Kiddo
by breemalio
Summary: Marin Lake has a gift that she shares with the one and only...Johnny Storm.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future.

* * *

Chapter 1:

"Mom!" I yelled, setting my bag down on the counter. "I'm home!"

On the counter, I noticed a file with papers inside. Deciding to satisfy my curiosity, I picked up the file and skimmed through, noticing a lot of big words and bolded terms. One of the papers stood out, so I pulled it out and started to read it.

 _CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH_

 _NAME: Marin Dawn Lake_

 _DATE OF BIRTH: 03-18-2005_

 _PLACE OF BIRTH: Albany, New York_

 _MOTHER: Lauren Dawn Lake_

 _FATHER: Jonathan Lowell Spencer_

Jonathan Lowell Spencer. Jonathan Spencer.

I flipped through the rest of the pagers eagerly, skimming through, looking for one thing; Jonathan Spencer. But I found nothing, and when I heard footsteps down the hallway, I quickly put it back on the counter and ran to the fridge, opening it and pretending to be looking at something.

"Hey, honey."

"Hey," I said casually.

My mom walked over and lent against that counter. "I told you about Seattle, didn't I?"

"No."

"Well, I have to fly to Seattle tomorrow for - you remember Stephanie - her wedding."

"That sounds nice," I said, not very interested in what she was saying. I was more focused on finding popcorn.

"Marin, you need to find a place to stay for a couple days. Stephanie wants to do some touring while I'm down there, so it'll be a couple days. You could stay at Lily's, or your aunt's, just somewhere."

"Mom," I groaned, looking at her over my shoulder. "I'm sixteen. I think I can handle a week alone."

"No," My mom dead-panned, not giving it any thought.

I picked up the popcorn bag and held it in my hands, walking to sit on the counter. "Why not?"

Overing the popping of the kernels, my mom said, "As you keep pointing out, you're sixteen." She looked down at the popped popcorn bag in my hand. "What did I say about that?"

I groaned, muttering, "Use the microwave."

"That's right." She smiled, walking around the counter and kissing the side of my head. "So you'll get that arranged?"

"Yes." I looked at her nervously, her back turned to me. Then I looked at the file on the counter. "What's that?" I asked, pretending not to know.

"Oh." My mom ran over to it, eager to get it out of my sight. "Nothing. Nothing at all. It's work."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Yes," She said surely.

"Okay." I shrugged, throwing popcorn in the air and catching it in my mouth. "Hey, mom."

"Yes, honey?"

"Who's Jonathan Spencer?"

Her head snapped up and her face paled. She looked shocked, then unsure. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," I said casually. "Just, you know, trying to figure out _who the hell my father is._ " My voice raised and I hopped off the counter, stomping around my mom and down the hallway to my room.

"Marin! Marin Dawn!"

I spun around. "What? I'm almost sixteen, when you said you would tell me. What is that file doing there, and why haven't you said anything? I don't know anything about him other than he was young and immature and not ready for a child, and that's why you couldn't stay with him," I yelled quickly, the words almost jumbling together. "Were you going to tell me anything at all?"

My mom sighed. "When you turned sixteen."

"I'm almost sixteen, so I think I'm entitled."

She sighed tiredly, smiling and looking down. "You remind me so much of him every single day."

I looked at her intensely. "Tell me about him, mom. Please."

She grabbed my hand. "Come, sit down."

I sat down in the living room across from her. "Okay."

She placed the file on the coffee table and opened it. She sighed loudly before the file toward me and pointing. "Jonathan Spencer, otherwise known as Johnny Storm."

I looked at the pictures. It must've been an older picture because he looked very young and kind of boyish. You could tell by looking at him that he lived for the adventure, not the survival. It was confirmed when the next picture was him soaring threw the air on a dirt bike.

I absentmindedly twirled my long blonde hair, while noticing that it was the same shade as his. Same as my blue eyes.

I picked up the picture and studied it closer. "He looks like the life of the party."

"Just like you."

I laughed, then stopped when I realized something. "You didn't take these, right?"

"No." My mom shook her head.

"How do you have these?"

"The wonders of google images."

My brows furrowed. "Why is he all over the internet?"

My mom leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and looking me in the eyes. "Your father was on a spacecraft, many, many years ago, and it got hit with cosmic rays, giving him...mutations."

"Mutations," I said, almost not believing it. I couldn't have, if I wasn't 'mutated' myself. "What kind of mutations?"

"Fire, like you. His sister, invisibility. Her husband, elasticity. And a friend of theirs, turned it a...a sort of, human rock."

"What?" I laughed. "Am I dreaming right now?"

My mom shook her head, not smiling. "They helped defeat people who could've destroyed our lives. They called themselves 'The Fantastic Four'."

My mouth fell open. "The Fantastic Four. That superhero group from, like, 2006 that I saw on the internet that one time, and you got really mad at me."

"Yes."

"Are they still in business?"

"No. I'm sure they live a quiet, normal life."

I raised my eyebrows. "You don't know?"

"I only have those pictures because you asked about him once when you were two," She said. "I thought I should have something for you to see when you were older, but I try to avoid him at all costs."

I sighed, leaning back into the couch. "Will I ever get to see him?"

My mom looked at me, seeming unsure. She stood and waked over to me, kissing me forehead. "I love you. Why don't you have a shower, and do your homework before dinner."

"Okay."

"Okay."

* * *

The next day was the day my mom left for Seattle.

"Okay, lock the doors when you go to Lily's. Don't forget your toothbrush and -"

"Mom." I just brought her into a hug. "I'll call you every night. I love you, okay?"

"Oh, I love you, too." My mom sighed, pulling away and touching my face. "Okay, goodbye, honey."

I smiled. "Bye, mom."

"Bye, Miss Lake!" Lily yelled after her.

After the door closed, I sat down at the counter, sighing, and drifting off into the depths of my mind.

"Rin."

I smiled, pretending to have heard whatever Lily just said. "Yes."

"Really?" Lily's eyebrows raised.

I shook my head. "I mean, no."

Lily narrowed her eyes at me. "Nice. You weren't even listening."

"I'm sorry." I sighed, tapping the kitchen counter with the tips of my fingers. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

I looked up at her, giving her a look to show that I wasn't impressed. "I wasn't the only one who wasn't listening."

Lily looked confused for a second before it clicked in her mind. "Your dad!"

"Ding ding ding!" I said dramatically. "We have a winner!"

Lily laughed, then leaned down close to me. "What it his deal anyway? Did you google him?"

"No."

Lily pushed the laptop of the counter toward me, encouraging me to open it. "Learn a little more about him."

I opened it, searching 'Johnny Storm' into google. My eyes scanned the words on the screen. "Johnny Storm in a former member of the superhero group the 'The Fantastic Four', that broke up in 2008. Johnny's life has since been quiet, as he resides in New York City, New York." I stopped reading, sitting up. "Lil."

"What?"

"That's only, like, three hours away from here."

Lily laughed, shaking her head. "No, no. No. No, no, no. No, Rin. No."

I smiled. "Why not?"

Lily shook her head, not smiling anymore. "Are you insane?"

I nodded. "Absolutely." I ran to my room, picking the suitcase up from underneath my bed.

"Rin, where are you going?"

"New York City!" I said, thinking about the things I needed.

"You're not serious, though." Lily leaned against the frame of my door. "Oh, my god, you're packing."

"I need to go," I said, packing whatever I had around, not minding what it was. I picked up my suitcase and started toward the door, but Lily caught my arm.

"You are actually clinically insane. _How_ is this a good idea, Rin? What if he's a psychopath, or an alcoholic, or homeless, or -"

I laughed. "I'm sure he's in his right mind, only a weekend drinker, and has a nice house." I sighed. "Come on, Lil, summer's almost over. I've got to do this."

Lily shook her head. "This isn't right."

I jumped forward, hugging her. "Tell your mom I went to my aunt's. I'll call you later."

Lily sighed nervously. "Are you a hundred percent about this?"

"No." I shook my head, smiling widely. "But I have to do it."

Lily nodded. "Be safe."

I nodded, grabbing my suitcase and running out the door, hailing a cab. When I hopped inside, the first thing I said was 'time square'.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 2:

"Miss."

I mumbled, shifting in my seat.

"Miss!"

I popped up, blinking rapidly. "Uh, yes - ye - yes?"

"We're here."

"Oh," I said, handing him the money and immediately looking out of the window.

The lights and the people - everything I saw was making me feel all giddy inside. Albany was nothing to be excited about, but New York City was a whole other story.

"Miss, can you get the hell out of my cab?"

"Oh," I said awkwardly, starting to get out of the cab. "Thanks." I got out, throwing my bag over my shoulder and starting down the busy street.

As I walked, I realized that I had no idea where I was going.

I stopped, sighing and looking around. When I saw a guy leaning up against the wall with his buddies, I hesitated before approaching them. I turned, almost walking away, but turned back, figuring 'what's the worst that could happen'?

"Uh, hi..." I started slowly. "Can I ask you a question?"

One of the guys turned my way, looking over his shoulder at me, a sudden smirk making way to his strangely handsome face. "Sure, kid."

I took the piece of paper out of my pocket. "Can you tell me where this is?"

He licked his lips, turning completely to me and taking the paper. His eyes narrowed down at the paper after reading it, then up at me. "Why do you need to go here?"

I narrowed my eyes back. "That's none of your business."

"Then find it yourself."

I sighed. "I don't even know who you are."

"Jones."

"Well, _Jones -_ " I snatched the paper. "I don't need your help then." I rolled my eyes, stuffing the paper back in my pocket and walking off.

He ran up beside me. "Now, hold up, kid. Listen, I'll help you for a price."

"What's the price?" I asked.

He smirked down at me. "We'll see."

I shook my head, looking forward. "Do we need a cab?"

"No, it's not far."

I sighed, stuffing my hands in my pockets, just now realizing how chilly it was outside. "How do you know where this is?"

"I'm familiar with the residence."

"Do you live in the building?"

"So many questions." Jones clicked his tongue.

I shrugged. "You are a stranger after all."

"Well, you're a stranger to me, too."

I held out my hand, debating whether it was a smart idea, doing it anyway. "Rin."

He smiled, shaking my hand. "Rin. What brings you to the big apple?"

I bit my lip, then stuttered. "Oh, uh, you know...I just...I don't know, really."

"Do you know who lives in this apartment you're going to?"

I shrugged. "Kind of."

"Do you know anything?"

I scoffed. "Could you not talk, maybe? Just walk me there, okay?"

Jones held up his hands defensively, chuckling and pulling out a cigarette, smoking it and continuing to walk.

After a couple minutes of walking in silence, I sighed loudly, kicking trash on the ground. "Are we close?"

Jones stopped suddenly, putting out his cigarette on the ground and gesturing dramatically to a distrusting-looking apartment building. "Voila."

"This is it?" I questioned, unsure.

Jones nodded. "Absolutely."

I sighed, scanning the directory, stopping at "J.S."

Johnny Storm? Jonathan Spencer?

I pressed it.

"How do you know him?"

I looked at Jones, eyebrows raised. "How do _you_ know him?"

Jones pursed his lips slightly, almost as to conceal something he was going to say. Then he said, "Ten bucks. That's the price."

I picked the money out of my bag, slapping it into his hand. I turned back to the button, pressing it again.

"Yes, hello? Hello?" A man's voice came through.

Jones pushed me out of the way, holding the button down and speaking into it. "Hey, man. It's Jones."

"Come on up."

Then the loud buzz. Jones opened the door, gesturing me inside.

"You're just going to let me in? What if I'm a psychopath?"

Jones stopped. "Are you a psychopath?"

"Well, no -"

"Great." He smiled, putting his hand on my back and shoving me inside. "5B! Good luck!"

And he was gone.

A strange person he seemed to be.

I sighed, looking up the narrow set of stairs. The floor he was on was the very top one. I looked around for an elevator, not finding one and ending up walking slowly up the stairs to give me time to change my mind. But standing in front of apartment 5B, I couldn't have gone back anytime soon.

I knocked on the door, holding my breath.

The man who opened the door looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple days, was wearing a white wife beater and old pyjama bottoms. He yawned loudly, looked me up and down, then started to close the door. "I don't want any cookies."

I held my hand out. "Wait!"

He opened the door wider. "Yes?"

I sighed heavily. "My name's Marin Lake and I -" My voice started to shake, and I ground my teeth together. "I think I've got the wrong apartment. Jonathan Spencer?"

He shrugged. "I prefer 'The Human Torch', but..."

"Oh, my god."

"I'm sorry..." He looked at me, eyes narrowed. "What are you doing at my door?"

"Right." I nodded, starting over. "My name's Marin and I'm your daughter."

He sucked in a breath. "You know what, I think you do have the wrong apartment."

"Lauren Lake. That name sound familiar?"

He studied me closely, then sighed as heavily as I did a couple seconds ago. He stepped aside, gesturing to his apartment. "Come in."

* * *

"Do you want some water or..."

I shook my head. "No, thank you."

"Johnny, by the way." He held out his hand.

I shook it, smiling politely. "Rin."

He nodded. "You know, you kind of look like me."

I laughed awkwardly, totally seeing how my mom could think he was too immature for a child. "Yeah. The - the hair and the eyes, right?"

He nodded, smiling widely. "Yeah. So where's your mom?"

"She's in Seattle for a friend's wedding."

"And she sent you here?"

I shook my head. "No. She doesn't know that I'm here."

He pointed at me. "You _are_ like me." Then he backed into the kitchen. "You sure you don't want, like, a beer or something?"

I hesitated, shaking my head. "Uh, no, I'm sixteen."

"Oh, right." He closed the fridge, opening a beer for himself and sitting down in the armchair across from the couch I was on. "So... _who is_ Marin Lake?"

"I, uh, I get good grades. I'm the captain of the cheerleading team. I...live with my mom in Albany, and I hate the colour orange." I shrugged, laughing nervously. "I don't know."

Johnny nodded, seeming genuinely interested. "Orange _is_ a strange colour."

"I know, right? Weird."

"Yeah, weird. Wait -" He stopped, putting his beer on the table. "How did you know where I lived?"

"Oh, that, uh, dark-haired..." I gestured, trying to remember his name. "Hazel eyes. Tall..."

"Jones?"

I snapped, pointing to him. "Yes! Yeah, Jones."

"Oh." Johnny looked at me. "And he just led you here? What if you were crazy or somethin'?"

"Yeah, he was very trusting."

We both laughed.

"So... you live in Albany, and your mom's gone for..."

"Two weeks."

"Are you alone at your house?"

"Uh, well, I think I'm just going to stay with my friend."

"Or you could..."

My eyebrows raised, waiting for him to finish. "Wha..."

Jonny slowly said, "Stay here, I guess."

I chuckled, then stopped. "Wait, really?"

He shrugged. "I guess."

"Okay."

"Okay. Well -" Johnny slapped his lap, grabbing his beer and standing up. "I'll go and get some blankets and stuff."

* * *

I woke up on the couch, feeling as if someone was watching me. I slowly opened my eyes, spotting a tall man a couple feet away from me. "Ah!" I screamed, falling off the couch and onto the floor.

Jones laughed. "Oh, you're up."

"What are you doing here?"

He smiled down at me. "Hey, Johnny!" He yelled. "You ready?"

Johnny came running down the hallway, dressed in normal clothes. "Mornin', Rin."

"Um, good morning."

"I gotta head off the work, but, uh..." He looked around, grabbing a pen and paper, writing something down. "My phone number's on this. Call me if you need anything."

I barely nodded before both of them were running out the door. I stood slowly, walking over tot the paper and adding the number into my phone under 'Johnny'. Then I walked over to the cupboards in the kitchen, searching through until I found some cereal. I found 'Captain Crunch' and that was it. When I went to the fridge for milk, there wasn't any.

What was Johnny's deal? He was, what, like 35 years-old? And his whole apartment gave me the impression that he was a college student. I had no idea where he worked, or what he did.

I was starting to regret coming.

I sighed, getting dressed in the mitch-match clothes I packed, my phone ringing mid-putting on my shirt. I pulled my shirt over my head, picking up my phone. "Hey."

 _"You didn't answer your phone earlier."_

"I just woke up," I replied.

Lily laughed on the other line. _"Oh, my god, just tell me what happened."_

"Barely anything. He just offered me a place to stay."

 _"I don't think its sunk in for either of you yet."_

I shrugged. "I don't know, Lil. I don't really know what I was thinking."

 _"At least you did it. Why don't you come home?"_

I thought about it before saying, "No."

 _"Wha - what?"_

"I can't come home," I said strongly. "I need to just get to know this guy. He's my father, Lily. He's the other half of my DNA."

 _"Just...don't die. I don't know what happens in New York City."_

I laughed. "Goodbye, Lily." I hung up quickly, being surprised when the door opened suddenly. "Holy -"

"Calm down, kid," Jones said, walking over to the table and grabbing some keys. "Just forgot something."

I nodded.

"Great legs, by the way."

I rolled my eyes. "You're disdainful."

Jones laughed, making his way out.

"Wait!"

Jones started to smirk, looking back at me. "Yes?"

"Do you and Johnny work together?"

"Yeah."

"Where?"

"At this club downtown."

" _Club_?" I asked unbelievingly.

"He owns it. I'm just a waiter, but I could do a little somethin' somethin' when needed for the entertainment."

I shook my head, looking at him disapprovingly. "Where are your parents?"

"I'm 19, kid. I can handle myself." He smirked, about to walk out.

"What am I supposed to do?"

He held out his hand. "Come with us. Help set up. At least you'll be put to good use."

I scoffed, but walked over anyway, ignoring his helping hand. "I'm not holding your hand."

* * *

The club I expected was going to be grungy, dirty, probably nothing to brag about. But the club we showed up in was huge, lights set up everywhere, and I was extremely impressed with the professional look it had.

"Kid?"

I broke out of my trance, nodding at him. "Yeah, it looks great."

"Good." He nodded, then ran up to the stage, tapping the mic. "Testing, testing."

Johnny, who was off to the side, fixing the audio nodded. "Everything sounds good."

"Good."

"Jones, how about you go get some coffee so we can survive the rest of the night, huh? Some food, too."

Jones nodded, jumping off the stage and walking to the door, grabbing my arm on the way.

"Hey -" I gasped, being dragged out. "Hey! Let go!"

Jones let go, smiling at me as he pulled out a cigarette. "Want one?"

"No," I said, shaking my head and stuffing my hands in my pockets. "The club looks nice."

"We work hard on it."

"How did you meet?"

Jones shrugged, taking a puff of his cigarette. "A couple years ago, he let me into his apartment after my dad kicked me out. I was too close to getting hypothermia." He sighed, chuckling lightly. "Good times."

"Then what?" I asked curiously.

"Then...he offered me a job or whatever, and everything was good from then on. You actually slept on my couch yesterday."

I looked at him. "Your couch?"

"Yeah."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Shouldn't you be going to college or something? Not working at a club and sleeping on a man's couch."

Jones went a little quieter, the sound of his feet on the ground becoming to loudest thing between the two of us. "I applied for a couple, but college is not really my thing."

I smirked. "Let me guess. You didn't get in to any."

He smirked back. "Try again, kid. I got in to all of 'em."

"Name three," I challenged.

"Hunter College. Pace. You know, NYU and stuff."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa -" I grabbed his arm, stopping him and making him look at me. "NYU _and stuff_? NYU? That's my dream school."

Jones laughed, shrugging and kept walking.

"And you got in?" I said, still processing the cigarette-smoking, waiter/bartender in front of me getting into my dream school.

"Yeah."

"And you're not going?"

"No."

"Wasted potential," I muttered.

"You think I have potential, eh?"

I paused. "No," I defended myself. "No, I just..." I groaned. "How can you not want NYU?"

He stopped, putting out his cigarette and opening a door to a shop. "Come on."

I walked inside the small coffee shop. "So what are you going to do now?"

He turned to me. "Look, kid, you're fifteen?"

"Almost sixteen."

"Don't worry about me. Where are you going to college, huh?"

"NYU," I answered, very sure of myself. "I've got the grades and the credentials. I'm a shoe-in."

"Confident, are we?"

"Very." I smiled widely.

"Well, little miss perfect, good for you."

I narrowed my eyes. "Perfect? Try again."

"What's wrong, kid?"

"Do you know who my father is?"

Jones laughed, grabbing the coffees he didn't even need to order. He started to walk out, giving me no warning he was doing so, and making me run after him.

"You move fast."

"It's the city. You have to move fast."

I sighed, walking alongside him. After a minute of silence, I timidly asked, "So what does Johnny like?"

Jones looked at me with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"What are his interests?"

"Ask him yourself."

I gave him a look. "Jones, please."

Jones sighed. "You're gonna have to talk to him eventually."

"I know."

"Start off with motorcycles. Say something about how awesome it looks or somethin'."

I nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

I sat beside Johnny at one of the tables, making sure everything was prepared for the doors to open. "So...your motorcycle is pretty sweet."

Johnny's eyes lit up. "You think? She's new."

"Nice." I smiled. "You know, I once asked my mom if she would let me get a motorcycle when I got older and she said 'absolutely not'."

Johnny laughed. "She never was one for motorcycles. When I picked her up for our first date, she refused to get on and we had to walk."

"You really did that?" I asked.

Johnny nodded. "It was worth it."

I smiled, bumping his shoulder. "I like them."

"You know how to drive, yet?"

I nodded.

"You should take her for a spin some time."

I nodded again. "That'd be awesome."

"You love motorcycles and you're captain or the cheerleading team. You're a jack of all trades, eh?"

I laughed. "I try to be. But I -"

"Johnny!" Jones yelled. "You ready or what?"

I looked up at Jones with a glare.

"Yeah! Good to go!" Johnny ran off.

I walked up to Jones, smacking his shoulder. "Idiot. I was just about to have a real conversation with Johnny."

"Sorry, kid. We've got work to do."

I rolled my eyes.

"Are you done whining?"

"Whining?" I asked, taken back. "You little -"

"Three, two, one!" Jones said quickly, opening the doors.

* * *

People piled in one after one. The club was a huge him which surprised me as much as it did when I walked into the club.

So I stood aside, not too keen on the fact that I might've gotten trampled.

Sooner or later, I was sitting by the bar, drinking a water while everyone danced and drank, having the times of their lives. And when Johnny walked behind the bar to me, he smiled. "Hey, Rin. Check it." He moved away, pouring drink in a fancy matter. Then the fire flew from his hands, igniting the alcohol. The twenty-year-old girls screamed in excitement and clapped, showing him a flirty smile. Johnny came back over to me. "What'd you think?"

I nodded, smiling and clapping lightly. "Impressive."

He smiled, walking away as another bartender walked up to me. "You know him personally?"

I hesitated. "Uh, he's kind of my dad."

"Sweet." The guy smiled. "You do look like him, you know."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"Drew." He held out his hand.

"Rin." I shook it.

Then someone bumped my hip. "Hello, there."

I groaned. "Go away, Jones."

Jones smiled, putting his arm around me. "Come on, kid. It's your bedtime."

I snarled. "Go away, Jones."

He grabbed my arm. "We're leaving."

I sighed, sliding off the seat and walking out. When we were outside, I pulled my arm from his grasp. "You're weird, Jones."

"Thank you." He smiled.

I chuckled.

* * *

I woke up in the middle of the night, the light from the door waking me up.

I groaned, covering my face.

"Oh, sorry, Rin."

I nodded. "It's fine."

Johnny closed the door quietly behind him, walking to the fridge. "Want some water?"

I sighed, sitting up. "Yeah. Sure."

He walked over to the couch, sitting down beside me and handing me a glass of water.

I took a big sip, then set it down on the table. "The club is really cool."

"Thanks. I worked really hard on it."

I nodded. "And the fire thing. That was really cool."

"Do you know..."

I nodded, laughing a little bit. "Yeah, I know all about your glory days."

Johnny smiled. "Those were some really good times."

I smiled, too. "Yeah. They looked really cool."

"Can you - I mean, do you..." He sighed.

I smirked, snapping my fingers, a light flame coming from my thumb. "Yeah."

Johnny smiled widely. "Cool."

I laughed. "Yeah. I've been able to do it since I was little. My mom doesn't like me doing it around the house or whatever, but I try to do it whenever I can."

"There are no rules over here, so you can do it whenever you want."

I smiled. "I don't think that's good parenting."

"You're right. Your curfew is midnight and...and no - no boys with the door closed."

I looked around. "It's a good thing the living room in wide open."

"Yeah..." Johnny said slowly. "I guess I should clear out the spare bedroom."

"I can go home at anytime -"

"No," Johnny said quickly. "No, I want you to have the spare bedroom. Jones needs the couch back anyway."

"What's the deal with him anyway?"

"His dad totally sucks, so he usually just stays with me and helps me out with the club."

I nodded. "He's kind of a dick."

"He's a good kid."

"Whatever you say," I sighed, starting to lay down again.

Johnny stood, walking around the couch. "Goodnight, Rin."

"Night, Johnny."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 3:

I chewed on my frosted flakes, having a joyous time at the dining room table of Johnny's tiny little apartment.

"Okay, but he has it together!"

"No way. That drug thing is going to bite him in the ass and he's never gonna let back on the team or any team for that matter."

I laughed loudly.

"Rin, come on, who's right?" Johnny asked me.

"Choose wisely, Rin," Jones said quickly, staring me down.

I smiled. "Johnny's right. There's no way he's getting back on the team."

"Rin!" Jones yelled loudly.

"Yeah!" Johnny smiled, laughing at Jones as he high-fived me.

"Whatever," Jones mumbled, walking to the fridge. "Hey, you guys are out of milk."

"I could go get some," I offered up, settling my empty bowl down. "I need an excuse to see more of New York City."

Johnny shook his head. "You shouldn't go alone. We can go together."

"On your motorcycle?" I laughed.

Johnny shrugged. "It's got more storage than you'd think."

I shrugged too. "Alright."

Jones gave me a thumbs up from behind Johnny, then laughed at my narrowing eyes. "Hey, Johnny, do you want to pick out your trophies before I install the new shelves?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

Johnny smiled. "The spare room, that's where I keep all my prized possessions." He nodded down the hallway. "Come on."

I got up, following Johnny and Jones to the spare bedroom. Entering it, I could see that there wasn't enough shelf space for the trophies he had, which I thought was a little weird. "Where did you get all these?"

Johnny pointed to one. "Dirt biking contest." He pointed to another. "Skydiving." He pointed to more, one by one. "Waterboarding, waterskiing, rock climbing, snowboarding, windsurfing -"

"You're really into the extreme sports, aren't you?" I asked, looking around the room.

Jones chuckled, picking up a small plastic one. "Don't forget the one you got for 'prettiest eyes'."

"What?" I laughed, looking to Johnny for an explanation.

Johnny shrugged. "Valentine's day. Never gotten around to throwing it out."

Jones shook his head. "Don't lie, man." Jones looked at me. "This is his favourite trophy."

"Shut up," Johnny snapped, grabbing the trophy and placing it gently on the shelf, causing Jones and I to laugh. "Let's just go shopping."

* * *

"Could we maybe get chocolate milk?"

"Sure," Johnny said, wheeling the cart around the store. "Hey, watch this." He stepped onto the bottom of the cart, pushing himself forward and riding down the aisle.

I laughed, shaking my head and jogging after him. "Wanna bet I can do better?"

Johnny raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

I nodded, taking control of the cart and mimicking his movements, but taking my hands off for a quick second, like if you were riding your bike with no hands, I gave it a shot and succeeded. I smiled confidently, turning around and facing Johnny. "Ha."

Johnny nodded, smiling. "I'm impressed." He continued to walk along the aisle, stopping immediately at a box of cookies. "Oh, my god."

"What?"

"I haven't seen these since I was a kid," Johnny marvelled, taking the package is his hands. "My mom used to give these to me whenever I won a baseball game. My dad always told her not to, but she did it anyway. It made all that hard work worth it."

I watched him smile down at the cookies. "She's sounds pretty badass."

Johnny laughed, looking at me. "She was."

I smiled. "Where does she live?"

"She used to live here." Johnny's smile faded as he looked back at the shelf, putting the cookies back. "She's dead."

Oh, god. Me and my big mouth. I stepped closer, putting my hand on his arm. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Johnny said to me, putting his arm around me and walking me back to the cart. "She was amazing, and I'm just happy that I got to have her as a mother."

I walked alongside him as we shopped around. "I'm happy to have you and my mom, you know."

He looked at me, almost like I had surprised him. He looked like he was trying not to smile, but he was cracking. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

We continued to walk around the store, grabbing stuff here and there.

"So..." Johnny started. "Did your mom ever get married?"

"No," I said honestly. "I don't think she's really looking for anything right now. She's pretty busy with her job or whatever."

"What does she do?"

"She's a lawyer," I answered, shrugging as I did. "And she really likes it."

"Rin?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you always know?"

I shook my head. "No. I never asked because she always said she would explain everything when I was old enough to fully understand; when I was 16."

"But you're only fifteen."

I smirked. "I managed to squeeze it out of her."

"You are definitely my child," Johnny said, then sighed heavily. "You know that I didn't..."

I nodded. "I know that you didn't know, Johnny. You don't have to worry about anything."

"Okay, good. Because I would've -"

"I know," I reassured him. "I know that you would've done something."

Johnny looked at me, like he was looking me over. "You're my daughter, Rin, and I didn't even know about you for fifteen years. I've missed a lot."

I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood by giving him a quick side-hug. "Not anymore."

Johnny stopped wheeling the cart and wrapped his huge arms around me. "You're right. I'm gonna be there from now on." He pulled away, patting my shoulder. "Now, how about that chocolate milk?"

I stared at him as he walked away.

Okay, so maybe he had missed the first fifteen years of my life, but I was just so grateful that I had him now and that he was who he was because he was my dad and I was going to be stuck with him until my mom got back.

I thought about how amazing the whole situation had worked out.

I sighed, a smile making its way to my face as I followed after my own father.

* * *

We put all the groceries on the counter and I sighed heavily, sitting down at the table. "We did it in one trip."

Johnny grunted, all of the bags he was holding falling onto the table. "Damn right we did."

Jones came out of from the hallway, looking at the groceries. "One trip?"

"Yeah," Johnny said.

"Nice." Jones gestured back to the hallway. "You ready to get to work on those shelves?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah."

"Can I help?" I asked.

Both men looked back at me.

"Sure," Johnny said, smiling. "Come on."

"You can hold my drink, Rin," Jones teased.

"Don't, Jones."

I walked into the room, helping with the shelves for a good two hours before we could really get it together. Eventually, Johnny had to leave to prepare the club for that night and that left Jones and I alone in the spare bedroom, frustrated at each other for not getting the right screws.

"Jones!"

"Kid, look at the instructions," Jones said quickly, handing me the paper. "I'm doing it right."

"No, you're not." I picked up the instructions, tossing them back at him. "I know what I'm doing."

"Whatever."

I sighed, sitting down on the floor. "Oh, my god."

"What's your deal?"

"I'm just exhausted right now, okay?" I said, irritated at his question.

Jones walked over to me, holding out his hand. "Then let's get out of here."

"And go where?"

"Just somewhere."

I stood up, shaking my head at his hand. "I'm not holding your hand. What is it with you and hand-holding?"

Jones laughed, walking in front of me and out of the apartment. Instead of walking down the stairs, he opened up a door that looked like we weren't supposed to go in, revealing a staircase and another door at the top. I followed him up the stairs and out the door, being blinded by the sudden bright light.

Jones held out his arms. "New York City."

I looked around at all the buildings, all the culture the city held and all the things I would've missed just walking around on the ground. "Wow."

Jones walked over to the edge, sitting down by it. "Come on, kid."

I walked over, sitting down beside him. "Jones."

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about yourself. I practically live with you and I feel like I don't even know you."

Jones sighed, leaning back on his hands as we looked out on the city. "I grew up here. This is my home, you know. I went to school and graduated, but by that time, my dad was getting sick of me. He just kicked me out and..." Jones smiled lightly. "Here I am."

I looked at him. "What about your mom?"

"She was never really around," Jones said, shrugging slightly. "Didn't bother me much anyway."

"We have that in common."

"Huh?"

"Johnny was never in my life until now," I said, waving my feet around the edge, letting them dangle. "I never even knew who he was, you know. I just had a vague picture of what I wanted him to be because I was never given anything that told me he was even real." I glanced at Jones. "I've waited so long for this moment, Jones, and I'm so glad that I've got it."

"But you got lucky. Your mom sounds like she loves you and Johnny is an awesome guy," Jones said, now fully looking at me. "You want your parents in your life. I don't know what I want."

"Well, what about college? NYU?" I tried, nudging his shoulder. "It's a fresh start. I think it's what you need. What's holding you back, anyway?"

"What's your problem, kid?"

I narrowed my eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Jones narrowed his eyes back. "Mind your own business."

I raised my eyebrows, starting to smile. "I think I've gotten under your skin."

"Whatever." Jones rolled his eyes.

"Hey -" I nudged his shoulder, making him look at me. "You should go, Jones. I have faith in you to succeed."

Jones adjusted his jaw, making me start to sweat a little for some reason. He blinked heavily, his eyes flashing down to the lower-half of my face, connecting with my lips for a moment, then back up at my eyes. He started to subconsciously lean in. Then, it was like he realized exactly what he was doing and he leaned away quickly. "Uh, thanks for the faith, kid."

I let out a shaky breath, looking back out at the city. "Uh, yeah, sure."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 4:

"Well, what's the point of getting the family size if it's more expensive?"

Jones glanced at me, then back at the chips. "It's bigger."

"But it'd be cheaper to get two of the regular size," I said, gesturing to the chips.

"I don't want two of the regular size."

"Okay. Okay, fine." I grabbed the chip bag, putting it into the basket. "It's not like it's my party or anything."

It had been a week at Johnny's apartment and I had not mentioned a thing about my birthday. When Jones found out it was my birthday that very day, he decided that he was going to throw me a party. We settled on that, since I had begged him not to tell Johnny, who was in Morristown for the night on 'business' or 'scoping out the competition'.

"Don't be crabby, kid. I'm throwing you this party."

"Oh," I chuckled, putting a smile on my face. "You mean the party I never asked for, that won't have any of _my_ friends at it?"

"You only have one friend, and you already asked her."

I pouted. "And Lily's away with family."

Jones pouted too. "Awe. Poor baby." He tried to put his arm around me.

I knocked his arm away. "Jones, seventeen is not that big of a deal."

"Seventeen's a huge deal," He insisted. "You go from a kid to...a bigger kid."

I pushed him. "You're so annoying."

Jones smirked. "Thank you."

I sighed, walking to the pop section.

"Why the pout, kid?"

"My mom comes home tomorrow and she's supposed to take me out for dinner tomorrow," I started. "How do I tell her that I've been staying with my dad for the past week?"

"Lie."

I laughed. "Jones, come on."

Jones shrugged. "Then tell the truth. What's the worst that could happen?"

I sighed. "I guess."

Jones tapped his foot in the line. "I need a smoke."

"You really shouldn't smoke."

"Really?" Jones said, sounding unimpressed.

"Really," I said seriously. "It's _so_ bad for you."

"Thank you for the valuable piece of information, Rin. You're a genius, truly."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Just be quiet."

Jones smirked and started to hum, annoying me immensely.

I hit him. "Jones!"

Jones smiled, mimicking me. "Marin!"

I pushed him. He pushed my back lightly. We went back in forth, annoying each other until we got back to the apartment.

* * *

"This is stupid," I said, sighing as I put out the chip bowls. "What am I, twelve?"

"Look, kid, parties are fun, but no one wants to be drunk _and_ hungry."

"Drunk," I dead-panned. "How did you get beer?"

Jones smirked at me, opening the fridge to a couple packs of beers. "Didn't have to. Johnny's always stocked."

I laughed.

Then my phone rang.

I picked it up, not looking at the caller I.D. - a bad habit of mine. "Hello?"

 _"Happy Birthday!"_

I winced, then smiled. "Thanks, mom."

 _"Sorry I didn't call earlier. It's been a late morning."_

"Party too hard last night?" I chuckled.

I heard my mom sigh loudly on the other line. _"You have no idea. Anyway, what have you been doing so far today?"_

"Uh..." I looked around at the apartment, trying to come up with an excuse. "Just watching TV with Lily, no big deal."

 _"No plans? No party?"_

"No. Your dinner tomorrow is enough for me."

 _"Awe, you really are the perfect daughter."_

Guilt arose inside of me. "Yeah, sure. Listen, mom, I've gotta go, okay?"

 _"Okay, honey. I love you, and happy birthday!"_

"I love you, too," I said. "Bye, mom." I hung up, sighing heavily. "She's gonna kill me when she finds out."

"Chill out, kid. This party's gonna be awesome."

I gave him a look. "Why do I feel like this is more for you than for me?"

Jones walked over to me, smirk on his face, eyes mischievous. He put his hands on my arms, rubbing them. "It's for _both_ of us."

I pushed him away, trying not to laugh. "Whatever. Just don't touch me and be quiet while getting everything ready. Hide everything expensive and breakable, okay?"

"Who do you think I'm inviting, Rin?" Jones scoffed.

I looked him in the eyes. "If they're anything like you, I have a right to be worried."

* * *

I sat in the corner of my own party, and everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun. The music was loud and people were dancing, laughing, yelling - whatever they wanted.

Jones came over to me, laughing loudly, beer in hand. "Rin!"

I laughed, too, but at his actions, not because he said anything funny at all. "Hi, Jones."

"Are you enjoying your party?"

"Yes." I nodded slowly, making sure he could understand. "Yes, I am. Are you?"

Jones held his hands up, cheering loudly, making the rest of the room cheer. Then he looked down at me. "Yes." He held out his hand. "Would the lady like a dance, hm?"

I shook my head. "Oh, no, thank -"

Jones grabbed my hand, pulling me up quickly. "I knew you would say yes." He slipped his arms around me, moving both of our bodies clumsily to the upbeat music. "Rin?"

"Yes?"

"Happy Birthday."

I smiled lightly, looking up at him. "Thank you."

He leaned closer, making me think he was going in for a kiss, but then his body just fell on me. I grunted, trying desperately to hold up Jones's weight as I moved over to the couch and let him fall down onto it. I took that opportunity to start ushering everyone out slowly.

"Thank you," I said, pushing some drunk people out of the door.

"Rin?"

I turned around. "Oh, Drew."

Drew smiled his pearly smile. "Hey, I couldn't even find you in the crowd, but happy birthday," He said, reaching forward for a hug.

I laughed awkwardly. "Oh, thank you."

He pulled away, tipping his beer to me. "Alright, well, sweet party. I'll see you around, I guess."

"Yeah, I'll see you around." I put my hand on his back, politely making him go out the door. As soon as he was out, I shut the door and leaned against it, looking over the apartment. It wasn't bad, but we definitely need to do some cleaning, and I would get started. But then I heard a groan from the couch. I walked over to the couch, kneeling down beside Jones. "You doing okay?"

Jones reached out, touching my face. "Just peachy, kid."

I smiled. "Good."

"You're really pretty."

I laughed lightly, taking his hands from my face. "You're really drunk."

Jones groaned, rolling over the other way.

I shook my head, sitting down on the chair beside the couch. I told myself I would just for a minute, but before I knew it, the minute was long gone, and I was fast asleep.

* * *

My eyes started to slowly open, letting the light evade my vision for a couple seconds as I tried to adjust. When they did, I saw Johnny standing by the front door with his overnight bag, looking over the apartment with shock.

"Johnny -" I said, starting to stand.

Johnny's eyes snapped to me. "What the hell happened?"

"I can explain. I mean - Jones wanted a party for my - I mean -"

"Speak, Rin!" Johnny said, letting his bag fall as he walked further into the apartment, clearly getting frustrated. "What happened?"

"Jones and I had a party."

"Why? Just because I went out of town?"

"Johnny, please let me -"

"Just stop," Johnny said weakly, rubbing his hands over his face. "I'm exhausted from the drive back and I need a nap. We can talk about this later."

I looked up at the clock, seeing that it was about noon. I groaned, running off to the bathroom. "Shit!"

"What?"

"I need to be ready in, like, an hour!"

"For what?" Johnny asked, still in the kitchen.

My brows furrowed, walking out of the bathroom and down the hallway so I could see Johnny again. "It's been a week. It's time for me to go home."

"Oh." Johnny placed his hands on his hips, then nodded. "Okay. Well, I'll, uh, drive you when you're ready."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Hey, Rin."

"Yeah?"

"Where's Jones?"

I laughed, pointing to the couch in front of him. "Couch." Before I walked back into the bathroom, I saw Johnny peer over the couch at Johnny with an unimpressed look. I walked into the bathroom, having a shower and doing my normal routine, following up with packing up anything I had in the small apartment. It didn't take very long and sooner or later, I was ready to go with my stuff and Jones was lazily following behind, sunglasses on and grunting every once in a while to make sure he kept himself awake.

I walked outside, seeing Johnny's motorcycle no where in sight. "Where's your bike?"

"It's in storage. But -" Johnny pointed to a really nice blue truck nearby. "We've got that."

My eyes widened. "You bought a truck?"

"The trip wasn't all business," Johnny said, smiling. "It's just more convenient."

I couldn't help but feel responsible. A motorcycle wasn't all too convenient for more than one person, so I felt as if he was doing it for me a little bit. I was surprised to say the least. The whole time I had lived with him, he had shown no sign of commitment. He couldn't even stay to a TV channel for too long. So the fact that he had bought a truck was making me feel a little sick to my stomach.

Jones nudged me, walking closer to the truck. "Well, get in the truck, kid."

I sighed, getting into the front seat while Jones laid in the back. I leaned into the brand new, very comfortable seat. "It's really nice, Johnny."

"Thanks." He breathed out loudly. "Alright, now I want to know why you guys had a party, hm? What was that about?"

I huffed. "I tried to explain -"

Jones groaned into the backseat. "Johnny, it was Rin's birthday yesterday."

"What?" Johnny said disbelievingly. "No." He glanced at me. "No?"

I nodded. "It was. My seventeenth."

"What?" Johnny said louder, more shocked now. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Because it's not a big deal."

"Seventeen was a big deal for me," Johnny told me, shaking his head. "And I wasn't there."

I sighed, leaning my head against the window. "It was nothing special."

Jones scoffed. "Wow, thanks, kid."

* * *

I woke up slowly, my eyes trained outside the window at the scenery that passed on by. I looked over at Johnny, who was looking like he was going to fall asleep, then I looked back at Jones, who was revived from his nap. Then Jones looked at Johnny, tapping his shoulder.

"Hey, man?"

"Hm?"

"Do you want me to drive for the last hour?"

Johnny shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

Jones shook his head to that. "You're about to fall asleep. Let me drive."

Johnny eventually nodded, pulling over and swapping places, crawling into the backseat and falling asleep before Jones could even start driving again.

I glanced back at the sleeping Johnny, chuckling lightly. "I'm gonna miss that."

Jones glanced at me. "What, you're never going to see him again?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, looking out at the road. "It's not like I can tell my mom anything. She'll be pissed and I'll be grounded for life, and I'd _really_ never get to see Johnny again."

"Why does your mom not like him, anyway?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "She still thinks he's an immature twenty-year-old who can't handle a child."

Jones shrugged and looked like he was resistant to believe anything I was saying. "I don't know, kid. That would be like me having a child in two years. I wouldn't be ready at all."

"But Johnny's all grown up now, and maybe he's not the most mature, but he's an amazing person." I smiled. "So, I just want to spend time with him. But I know that the chances might be pretty slim with my mother." I started to feel upset, the thought of never seeing Johnny again causing my heart to ache. "Jones, what if I never see him again?"

"Hey, hey..." Jones reached over, putting his arm as far around my shoulder as he could've. "Don't be such a baby."

I hit him. "It's not funny."

"I'm sorry, alright?" Jones said, any sign of a smile being wiped off his face and being replaced with a solemn look. "You're gonna be fine. You'll see each other again, Rin. Come on."

I nodded, sniffling and squeezing his hand. "Okay. Okay."

Jones started to pull his hand away. "Okay."

I grabbed it again. "No, wait - just don't let go, okay?"

Jones smiled faintly, then smirked, looking back at the road. "I knew you were in love with me."

I laughed. "Oh, really. 'You're really pretty, Rin', 'Oh, I'm drunk and I think you're pretty, Rin'."

"I did not say that."

I giggled quietly. "Whatever."

* * *

We pulled a couple houses away from my house for safety reasons. I looked at Johnny in the backseat, leaning back, seeming uncomfortable, but in the deepest sleep that I had ever seen. I smiled, then sighed, getting out of the truck with my bag and standing outside of the truck, looking at my house not far away. One step inside that door and nothing would be the same.

Jones came around to the passenger side, leaning against the door beside me. "Are we gonna stand here or wake him up?"

"No, don't wake him up."

"What?" Jones said, sounding a little surprised and confused. "You don't want to -"

"Say goodbye?" I scoffed, shaking my head. "No, I don't."

"Okay, calm -"

"Calm down? I am calm. I'm calm," I said, definitely not calm.

Jones gripped my arms, pushing me against the truck, looking me in the eyes. "You're fine, kid."

I held my breath, making a nearly fatal decision in that moment as I leaned forward and went up on my tip-toes to make my lips touch his. I wrapped my arms around his neck, helping myself by puling my up a little.

Why did he have to be so tall? Why did I have to be so short?

Jones was hesitant, his lips and body still for a second before he quickly wrapped his arms around me tightly, lifting my feet off the ground, his rough lips moving against mine.

I pulled away slowly, breathing out as I blinked heavily, still dangling in his arms.

Jones started to smile snidely. "What was that for?"

"Just in case," I said, letting go of him and picking up my bag, jogging off onto my lawn and slipping in my front door so fast in must've been less than five seconds in total. I leaned against the closed door, letting out the breath I had been holding.

"Honey!"

I smiled in relief, launching forward and hugging my mom. "Mom."

"Hi, honey. Oh, it's so good to see you again."

I hugged her tightly. "I missed you, too."

My mom smiled, pulling away and holding my face. "Every time I go away and come back, you always seem different."

I sighed, putting my bag down and sitting at the kitchen stool. "Mom, I need to tell you something," I said, knowing that the guilt would eat me alive.

"Me first!" My mom said, still smiling widely, and I had a feeling that it wasn't because we were both back together again.

"Mom?" I questioned, brows furrowing.

"I met someone."

"Wha - what?" I stuttered, not believing what I was hearing.

"I met a man and we're together!" She said, clapping.

"Mom!" I yelled in disbelief. "It's been a week! Just a week!"

"His name's Mark and he is the most amazing man I've ever met." She sighed happily, staring off into space before looking back at me. "What did you want to tell me?"

Before I could even react or do anything or say anything, a body barrelled through the door, Johnny standing tall and walking closer to me.

"You didn't say -" He stopped, meeting eyes with my mother. "Goodbye."

Jones ran through the door a second later, huffing and puffing at me. "I couldn't catch him."

"Johnny?" My mom asked. "Is that really you?"

Johnny looked at me, then at my mom again. "Yeah."

"What the hell are you doing here?" She said, sounding more surprised than anything else, which I thought was better than anger.

I hopped off my seat, standing between them and looking at my mom as I explained. "When you left, I didn't stay at Lily's or auntie's, I stayed at Johnny's."

My mom gasped. "Marin -"

I let out a sad laugh, feeling my eyes grow wet. "And I had a really good time. I _finally_ got to know my own father and I actually like him. I'm sorry I had to go behind your back, but I'm not sorry that I did it."

My mom looked at me with wide eyes, then stared Johnny down, eyes turning wild as she pointed her perfectly manicured finger. "You!" She stomped over, past me to stand in front of Johnny. "Who do you think you are, huh?"

"What was I supposed to do, Laur, put her on the street for a week?"

"Do _not_ call me that! You lost that privilege when you dumped me out of nowhere."

Johnny's eyes shot up with fire. "Oh, you mean after you stopped talking to me all together?"

"I was pregnant!"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Johnny yelled, both of them now screaming loudly.

"Because you weren't ready for a child! I knew I could've given her a better life than you ever could've!"

"That wasn't your decision to make! She's my child, too!"

"You didn't want a family!"

"No, I didn't!" Johnny yelled, making the room become very, very quiet. "I never wanted a kid. I never wanted a daughter, and I certainly didn't want some teenager coming to my door, telling me that she's my kid. _You_ did that to me, Lauren."

My mom opened her mouth to respond, but I beat her to it.

"Get out," I said weakly, knowing that my face was red and wet.

Johnny turned to me, looking regretful. "Rin -"

"You never wanted this. You never wanted me, so I'm not gonna make you have it." I walked over, opening the door and gesturing outside. "Just get out of my house, and never talk to my family ever again."

Johnny sighed. "Rin -"

"Out!" I said loudly, then quieted. "Please."

Johnny looked down, walking toward the door, just about to leave. He looked down at me, eyes full of sorrow before walking out. Jones walked by, touching my shoulder.

"Kid -"

"Don't," I begged, closing my eyes so he couldn't suck me in with that pretty face of his. "Please just go."

"Okay."

I heard him walk out, then I closed the door.

 _I never wanted a kid. I never wanted a daughter, and I certainly didn't want some teenager coming to my door, telling me that she's my kid._

I blinked harshly, letting the tears fall down my cheeks as my knees gave out and I started to sob.

"Oh, Marin." My mom walked over to me, enveloping me into her arms.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 5:

I didn't want to go out for dinner, so we stayed at the house and I ended up spending most of the night picking at my food at the table.

"Marin?"

"What?"

"We need to talk about this."

"What, about your boyfriend?" I asked, very annoyed at the adamant mention of Johnny and the whole debacle. "Mark, was it?"

"Yes, there's something I need to say about that."

"What?" I asked, so bored of this conversation.

"He's moving in. In three days."

I looked up at her, eyes widened, mouth open. "What? Mom, I don't even know this guy."

My mom shook her head, sighing and leaning back into her seat, gazing off somewhere. "I don't know what happened. I just fell in love with him right when I saw him, Marin."

I watched her with the love in her eyes and I started to feel sad again. "Sounds a little rushed."

"So was seeing your father."

"Okay -" I dropped my fork on my plate, standing up angrily. "Let's make a deal. Mark can move in no problem if you drop it. Don't talk about it. I want to forget that it ever happened, okay?"

"Uh, okay, but -"

"Great," I finalized, walking off, down the hall and to my room with a bed and pictures of me and my mom on the wall - my room, not a couch. I laid down on my bed, holding my phone up in front of my face, scrolling down my contacts, planning to stop at Lily's, but stopping at Jones's.

Jones.

I sighed heavily, scrolling past the name and straight to Lily's, calling the number.

 _"Hello?"_

"Lily."

 _"Hey, did you get back yet? You haven't texted me all day."_

"Yeah, I got back."

 _"Back to normal, huh?"_

I told her everything. And then when she asked about my mom, I told her all of that as well. Then I sighed heavily into the phone, shimmying underneath the covers and cuddling into the warm, clean, nice-smelling sheets. It was better than Johnny's couch, but it definitely didn't have the character or the company.

* * *

I stood at the front door, hair done to perfection, in my 'nice-clothes'. There was a knock at the door and my mom squealed, running forward and answering it quickly, kissing Mark before I could even get a glance at his face. When she moved out of the way, they both walked in and were smiling.

"Marin, this is Mark."

Mark had a very kind look to him - like a preacher or a kindergartener teacher. "Hi, Marin. It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much."

I nodded, arms still crossed. "I haven't. This whole thing was kind of a surprise, Mark."

My mother glared at me. "Marin..."

"I mean, one day, my mom's complaining about how she never has time to meet anyone, then she comes back from Seattle with a boyfriend. I mean, pinch me, am I right?" I fake-laughed, hitting his arm lightly. "Let's unpack." I moved past him, purposefully bumping into his shoulder as I just grabbed my bike from the side of the house and rode off down the street. I rode down to a little cafe down the street, locking my bike up and walking inside.

"Hey, Rin."

"What's up, Blake?"

Blake walked over, patting my back. "You look a little down. What's up?"

"Nothin'."

"Hey, some kid was in here the other day. He had the same look on his face and he was talkin' about you - something about never seeing you again."

My brows furrowed. "What was his name?"

Blake shrugged. "I don't know. Jake, maybe? John? Dark hair, tall..."

"Jones?"

"That would be it. You know him?"

I sighed, tapping the table as I avoided eye contact. "Yeah."

"You sure know how to break hearts, Rin."

I chuckled. "Shut up, Blake. Can I just get my usual hot chocolate with -"

"With extra whip cream," Blake finished, nodding surely. "Got it."

I pulled out my phone as he walked away, looking at it in a couple days.

 _7 Missed Calls from Jones_

 _1 Voicemail from Jones_

 _16 Text Messages from Jones_

 _3 Missed Calls from Mom_

 _5 Text Messages from Mom_

 _2 Text Messages from Lily_

I put my phone to my ear, curious as to what voicemail Jones could've possibly left me.

 _"Hey, kid. Listen, Johnny came home and laid on the couch for, like, six hours. He wasn't even watching TV or anything - he was just laying there. He's not right. Then this morning, he - he - you've just got to get here, okay? I think he's gone crazy. Call me as soon as you get this. And we still need to talk about that kiss. Only I can do the kiss and ditch thing."_

I rolled my eyes, pulling away and hitting 'call' before putting it back to my ear. "What the hell -"

 _"Before you say anything, just listen, alright?"_ Jones said quickly. _"For three days, he's been in his trophy room. Seriously, kid, he barely sees how the club is keeping up. I have to do it all myself."_

"You poor baby."

 _"Rin. He needs you, okay? I need you."_

I sighed heavily, putting my phone down and rubbing my face before picking it up again. "Okay. I'll be over later today. Anything to get away from my mom and her new beau."

 _"Oh, shit. How's that going?"_

I groaned. "I don't even know. He seems like an okay guy. I just wished she had asked me before she decided he should move in with us."

 _"Maybe -"_

"I don't need your advice, Jones. I'll be over soon. Bye." I hung up. hiding my face in my arms on the table.

"One hot chocolate with extra whip cream."

I leaned back up, taking the hot chocolate in my hands. "Thanks, Blake."

"Anytime, Rin."

* * *

I got out of the cab, walking up to the front of the building. I sighed, walking up to the door, just about to press Johnny's apartment number, then the door opened suddenly, grabbing me and pulling me inside.

I gasped, immediately hitting the person.

"Kid, it's me."

I sighed, smacking Jones's arm away from me. "You scared me."

Jones smiled slowly, just looking at me. Then he surprised me by leaning down and kissing me.

I leaned back as soon as his lips touched mine, placing my hand on his chest and pushing him away. "What are you doing?"

Jones smirked. "Ouch. You're cold."

I chuckled, shaking my head as I walked around him. "It was a one time thing."

Jones smiled, grabbing my arm. "Alright, kid. Let's just get up there."

"What is going on?" I asked, following behind Jones.

Jones hesitating. "You've got to see this." He opened the door, showing me the same old apartment that had always been.

"Okay?" I shrugged. "What am I looking for?"

Jones grabbed my chin, facing my face way to the right, to a box against the wall, filled to the top with trophies. "That."

I kneeled down, picking one out. "Even the best eyes one?"

"Even that one."

I put the trophy back, standing up. "So now what's in the room?"

Jones shrugged. "I don't know. He won't let me inside. But he will let you." He put his hand on my back, pushing my across the living room and a little ways down the hall to the original trophy room. Then Jones knocked on the door. "Johnny?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh -"

"It's me," I said loudly. "It's Rin."

The door opened faster than I could've even blinked, and I was being hugged very tightly by Johnny. "Rin."

I didn't say anything, but I sighed and hugged him back lightly. When he pulled away, I stared at him blankly. "What are you doing?"

Johnny looked behind him, then leaned against the door, hiding the room from my view. "Nothing. What are you doing here?"

"I don't know." I turned around, ready to walk away.

Jones grabbed my arm. "Don't leave, Rin. Come on. Talk to him."

"You want me to talk?" I said angrily, spinning around to face Johnny. "You said that you didn't want me. God, you have no idea what it's like to want something your whole life, finding it and realizing that that something you searched _so_ hard to find, didn't want to be found in the first place! There was always and empty part of me and there always will be."

Johnny grabbing my shoulders tightly. "I didn't mean any of that, Rin. It's just that...being around your mother makes me insane -"

"Obviously you meant it."

"Okay, maybe I never wanted a kid -" Johnny paused, sighing heavily, his eyes starting to glisten over. "But I'm so glad that I've got one." He let go of my shoulders, stepping out of the way, revealing a beautiful bedroom.

The walls were a pale blue, some decorative things and empty picture frames hanging on it. Against the wall was a queen-sized bed, the softest-looking grey comforter on it and a couple pillows that were grey, white, and the same colour as my walls. There was a comfortable-looking, white chair in the corner like a little reading nook.

"I was just installing some shelves..." Johnny said.

I chuckled lightly, then hugged him tightly. "Johnny, this is amazing."

Johnny smiled widely as I pulled away. "I had someone come in and decorate it. I was just waiting for it to really be ready until I -"

I looked around my new room. "I love it. It's amazing."

"I was thinking, you know, joint custody or something."

I shrugged. "Maybe summer's at my moms, school year here. Or the other way around. Whatever." I smiled happily. "I don't care."

Johnny put his arm around my shoulders. "Just as I get to see you, Rin."

I nodded. "Diddo. This kind of works out. Mark just moved in and I don't think I'm ready for that."

* * *

I walked into the house, immediately hearing the shrieking of my mother's voice.

"Marin Lake! Where the hell have you been?" She stopped in front of me, hands on her hips. "Hm?"

"I was at Johnny's," I said, walking past her, trying to get to my room.

She grabbed my arm, turning me to her. "Oh, you were at Johnny's. Fantastic!"

"He made a room for me," I said quietly, looking at her with sad eyes. "He apologized. He showed his commitment...and...I want to go live with him for a little while."

My mom laughed, like she honestly though I was joking. Then she stopped, staring me down. "No way in hell, Marin."

"I can't live here with Mark, mom. I'm sorry, but your sprung that on me and I'm not ready!" I yelled, feeling my eyes grow wet. "God, did you even stop and consider how that would've made me feel? Do you have any idea?" I walked over to the couch, sitting down and crying into my hands - letting out all the held in stress.

My mom sat beside me, rubbing my back. "I'm sorry, Marin. I know I haven't been the best mother lately, I just...I fell in love, and I didn't want to waste one second of having it."

"Please," I begged, looking up at her. "Please let me go live with Johnny for just a little while."

She hesitated, looking me over before hugging me close. "Yes."

I smiled in relief, hugging her back just as tight.

* * *

I hung my last shirt, then walked back out to the living room. "Suitcase is officially unpacked."

Johnny smiled. "Great."

Jones snickered. "Didn't forget your undies, did you?"

I smiled, walking over to him, glancing at Johnny knowingly. "Jones..."

Jones looked between Johnny and I. "What is going on?"

I grabbed his hand, making him stand. "We have a surprise for you."

Johnny put Jones's blindfold on, making Jones temporarily freak out.

"Whoa, what the hell? Guys, come one. What -"

"Shut up, Jonesy," Johnny commanded, smiling at me. "You're in good hands." Johnny let him to the truck, making him sit in the back seat.

When we got to our destination, I helped Jones out of the truck, holding his hands as Johnny undid his blindfold, then I stepped out of the way, letting Jones see where we had taken him.

"NYU?"

I held up the paper - his class schedule. "You _did_ apply, and you _did_ get accepted. You start in a week."

Jones snatched the paper out of the hands, reading it quickly before looking back up at the campus, the corners of his lips twitching. "Uh -"

"You're welcome." Johnny patted Jones's back.

I smiled up at Jones. "I know you'd never admit it, but you want this."

"Wha - I just - I don't -" Jones stopped, and I realized that I had never heard him stumble his words until now.

"You'll live in the dorms and visit us all the time with -" Johnny spun Jones around, showing him his old motorcycle - Jones's new one.

"Whoa. No, I can't take that." Jones looked at Johnny. "Come on, man."

"You can. And you will."

I walked up to Jones's side, nudging his arm. "You're welcome."

Jones shook his head, taking a step forward, then turning back and looking at us. "Why?"

Johnny sighed. "With everything you've gone through, you deserve this."

"And for bringing Johnny and I back together," I said, taking a step closer and wrapping my arms around him. "You deserve this Jones."

Johnny joined to hug, squeezing us tight and making us all laugh.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 6:

I laughed loudly, watching Johnny throw his cards down.

"This game is rigged!"

Jones laughed, too. "Whoa, go-fish just got hardcore."

Johnny stood, walking over to the fridge.

Jones looked at me. "How was your third day of school, kid? Third time's a charm?"

I shrugged. "Just like the first day, I basically called Lily every chance I got. I didn't mean anyone, really. I mean, everyone was nice, but no one's clicked with me yet." I sighed leaning back into the chair I was sitting in.

"Did you see Drew?"

I leaned back up. "I thought that was him."

Jones chuckled. "Failed senior three times in a row, Rin."

"Really? Makes sense he's in Biology with me."

"He's a total screw-up."

"What about you? Fancy NYU?" I teased.

Jones looked like he was trying to not smile, trying not to show how happy he was. "Eh, it's alright."

"Just alright?" I smirked, nodding. "Okay. Sure. I'll believe that."

"Speaking of which -" Jones put his cards down, picking up his jacket. "I've got some work I need to do."

I sat up. "You're leaving already? You practically just got here."

Something I hadn't anticipated about him living at the dorms at NYU was not seeing Jones more than I should've. But I rather that, than not enough.

Jones shrugged. "I got shit to do, kid." He turned to Johnny, fist-bumping him. "I'll catch you tomorrow at work, man."

"Seeya, man."

The door closed and I slumped into my seat.

"Why the sad face, Rin?"

I shook my head, snapping out of it. "No reason." I stood up, grabbing my jacket as well. "I think I'm gonna go to Sev around the corner. You want anything?"

"Get me a kit-kat."

"On it," I said, running out of the apartment to see if I could still catch Jones, but he was no where in sight.

I sighed, walking down the street, looking down and kicking some stuff around. I looked up when I should've been at Sev', but I wasn't. I looked around, realizing that I was no where I had ever been before.

Shit.

I couldn't call my mother or Lily. They were three hours away. There was no use. I would not call Johnny. He would never let me go out again. Jones was the only one left, but he had just left -

"Hello there, little lady."

"Nope." I spun around, quickly walking away from the man, pulling out my phone in the meantime, dialing Jones's number. "Pick up, pick up, pick u -"

 _"What? I just -"_

"Okay, I kind of got lost."

 _"Lost? What the hell are you talking about?"_

"I was trying to get to Sev and I think I went the wrong way..."

 _"Are you going to try and walk back or something?"_

"I don't know. I just ran back the direction I was going, but I think I went the wrong way again," I said, starting to stress out. "Jones -"

 _"Okay. Stay calm. Stay where you are, okay? Describe what you're seeing. Is there a street sign? Anything, Rin."_

I looked up. "Uh. Kenmar street? I don't know, I -"

 _"I know where you are. Stay there, okay?"_

"Hurry, please." I hung up and waited what felt like the longest eight minutes of my entire life until Jones rode up on his motorcycle, pulling off his helmet and hopping off his bike quickly.

"Jesus, kid. Are you okay?"

"I think so..." I said shakily. I had really scared myself.

Jones hugged me quickly. "You're freezing and scared. You're shaking like a puppy."

I sighed into his warm jacket. "Thank you."

Jones rubbed my back, and I felt his chin on the top of my head. "What would you do without me?"

I laughed, pushing him away. "You -"

Jones grabbed the back of my head, smashing his lips against mine.

I moved my lips against his for the better part of ten seconds, eventually pushing him away, hand over my lips. "Jones!"

Jones chuckled, seeming proud. "What?"

I punched his shoulder. "Stop kissing me."

Jones smirked, getting onto his bike and starting it. "Just get on, kid."

I rolled my eyes, but caught sight of something on Jones's neck. "What the hell is that?"

"What?"

I looked at Jones's neck closely. It look like fingers...red prints of fingers, like someone was trying to choke him. Did he have that before? "Jones, what have you been doing?"

"Wha -"

I touched it.

"Ow!"

"It's hot," I said, surprised myself. I got the itching feeling and I looked down, seeing my really red - basically radiating heat - hands. "What?"

"What happened?"

"I just -" I watched my hands return to their normal colour. "Couldn't control anything for a second there."

Jones reached up and touched his neck. "You burned me?"

"I'm sorry."

Jones laughed. "I don't care. Just get on the bike, kid."

* * *

I walked down the hallway, opening my locker and putting my books inside.

"Hey, uh, Rin!"

I looked next to me, seeing Drew walking toward me. I smiled politely. "Hey, Drew."

Drew smiled charmingly. "I thought that was you in Chemistry."

I laughed, blushing slightly and shifting on my feet. "Yeah, that's me."

"So..." Drew leaned against the lockers. "We've already got this lab coming up, and I already suck at Chemistry, so I was thinking that maybe we could get together and figure it out."

I hesitated. "I..."

"I promise to not copy off of you," Drew said jokingly, making me chuckle.

"Okay." I nodded. "Sure. You can come over after school."

Drew nodded, his dark eyes gleaming. "Alright. You got a ride?"

"Johnny usually picks me up."

"I'll drive."

"Thanks, Drew."

Drew touched my arm gently, starting to walk past me. "I'll see you in the parking lot, Rin."

I grabbed my books, going to study hall for an hour before going back to my locker and grabbing my bag as the bell rang and everyone started to pile out of the school. I walked out quickly, beating the crowd, and I saw Drew in his crappy, little, but cute car. I ran over, getting inside. "Thanks for this Drew."

"No. Thank you."

I smiled. "So, this is your third try, huh?"

Drew smirked, glancing at me. "I'll get it this time."

"I have hope for you, Drew."

"I know you get amazing grades. Maybe we should get together more, huh?"

I looked down, trying hard to hide my blush. "Maybe we should."

Drew chuckled, shaking his head.

"What?" I asked, smiling.

Drew glanced at me, then smiled at the road. "You're just cute."

Okay. There was no hiding my blush then. "Thank you."

We talked all the way back to my house and we kept talking when we sat down in the living room, opening our textbooks and starting to 'work', though we mostly just talked about ourselves, until I tried to pretend to actually be studying.

"Okay, so carbon dioxide and -"

"Rin."

I turned my head, looking at his surprising close face. "Yeah?"

Drew licked his lips, then leaned forward and kissed me with his sudden, wet and sloppy-moving lips. I was surprised, but I still managed to kiss him back. Drew moaned into my mouth, pushing my back onto the couch, making my back hit the soft cushion as he climbed over me. I broke away and took a breath I wasn't able to take and Drew didn't wast anytime starting on my neck.

"Drew -"

The door opened and Drew's lips left me, both of us peering over the couch.

"Drew?"

"Jones?"

Jones looked between us, brows furrowed. "What the hell is going on here?"

I pushed Drew back, trying to discreetly wipe my mouth. "Nothing." I stood, walking around the couch to Jones, looking up at him. "Nothing, we were just studying."

Jones's eyes narrowed down at me. "It didn't look like studying."

I mimicked his facial expression back. "It's none of your business anyway."

"Are you guys okay?" Drew asked from the couch.

Jones's glare turned onto Drew. "Get out."

"What?"

Jones took a menacing step closer.

Drew stood, hands held up in defence. "Alright, alright. Jesus, Jonesy. I'm out." Drew looked at me, then walked out of the apartment.

"Why did you do that?" I asked, a little frustrated.

Jones walked over to the kitchen casually. "You should be thanking me. He was probably gonna suffocate you."

"I was having a good time."

I saw Jones's shoulders slump as he leaned down over the fridge. "He just wanted another notch on his belt, Rin. You really should be thanking me."

I sighed, sitting down at the dining room table. "Thank you."

Jones turned around, smiling. "I could use a kiss."

"No."

"So you'll kiss that prick, but not me."

"I -"

Jones's ground his teeth together. "I mean, really, Rin, what does he have that I don't?"

I bit my lip, trying not to smile. "You're jealous."

Jones immediately scoffed. "Of him? No."

I stood, making my way over to him slowly. "You just don't like the fact that I was kissing another guy. You didn't like it because _I_ liked it." I smirked, standing closely in front of him. "Admit it."

Jones stared down at me. "Nothing to admit, kid."

"Admit it, Jones."

"No."

"Fine." I fake-sighed, starting to walk away.

Jones gripped my arm, spinning me back around and kissing me quickly.

I smiled, pushing him away. "I knew it!"

Jones groaned. "Are you gonna push me away every time I kiss you, huh? Cut it out." He kissed my again, gripping my hips and setting me on the counter. I kissed him back eagerly.

Jones was right. I was tired of pushing him away. I just wanted to kiss him.

I wrapped my arms around his back, pulling him closer, and he wrapped one arm around my back, the other hand on the back of my head. We were just kissing and then his tongue touched mine. It surprised me, causing me to back away a little, my head hitting a cabinet. "Ow," I groaned, reaching up and rubbing my head.

Jones laughed, rubbing my head as well. "Sorry."

I chuckled along with him. "That's okay."

Jones leaned forward, kissing me softly and slowly, but only for a couple seconds. When he pulled away, he was smiling. "You're cute, kid."

I started to feel warm inside, and I tugged him close. "Thank you."

He stepped back, smiling. "Now get off the damn counter."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 7:

I sat awkwardly in in the chair, twirling the spaghetti around my fork. "So..."

"So."

Mark smiled at me. "So, how is school going, Marin?"

I nodded, trying to make an effort to communicate with him. "Good, I think."

"And how's Johnny?"

I watched my mom roll her eyes out of the corner of my eye as I said, "He's great."

"That's good," Mark said, still smiling. "You know, your mother told me that he has a motorcycle."

"Oh, he gave that to my..." I paused. "Friend, Jones, after he bought his truck."

"Oh, well, I used to have one back in my day."

"Really?" I smiled, not being able to picture Mark the paediatrician on a dangerous motorcycle. "No way."

He chuckled. "Yes, way. I was even in the Hell's Angels, I promise."

I laughed louder than I anticipated, then quickly coughed, giggling to myself before quieting.

"Wow."

I looked up at my mom. "What?"

She smiled, looking between me and Mark. "Nothing."

I shook my head, eating the rest of my dinner before we all proceeded to the kitchen to look at some pictures from the San Fransisco trip that my mom hadn't shown me, most of them being her a drunk mess at the wedding. It was a lot of her trying to grab them from me and Mark as we ran away.

"Hey!"

"No!" I laughed, handing the picture to Mark, who ran to the kitchen.

My mom chased him, her laughter getting the best of her as they chased each other around the kitchen.

I just watched them, realizing that maybe I had been a little - okay, a lot harsh to their relationship and Mark. Mark was cool and my mom was happy? What could be better?

My phone vibrated in my back pocket and I grabbed it, picking it up without looking at the ID - a bad habit of mine still. "Hello?"

 _"Hey, kid."_

"What's up?" I turned around, walking down the hall to my room.

 _"I thought you were supposed to be back here by now?"_ Jones said, sounding confused. _"Movie night with the best people ever? Did you forget?"_

I hesitated. "Oh, you know that my mom always wants me to stay the night at least one day a week."

 _"But you always get out of it."_

I sighed. "Not this time, Jones, okay?"

He paused on the other line. _"Alright. But Johnny is gonna be all moody the rest of the night."_

I laughed, sitting down on my bed. "How was class today?"

 _"It was class, you know,"_ Jones said, now sounding tired. _"I'm still getting used to it. It just take a little getting used to."_

"But you love it, don't you?" I smirked.

 _"Yeah,"_ Jones admitted a little reluctantly. _"What time should I pick you up tomorrow?"_

"Whenever you get the chance. Just call me or text me or whatever you want."

 _"Okay. Well, I'll let you get back to your new favourite people."_

I chuckled. "Oh, come on."

He laughed, too. _"I'll try not to be bitter about it. I'll call you tomorrow."_

"Okay."

 _"Okay. Bye."_

"Bye."

"Who was that?"

I tossed my phone behind me. "No one." I looked down at my mom's hand, where the best picture was clutched tightly, then I looked at Mark. "She got it?"

Mark shrugged. "I tried."

I chuckled.

* * *

I sat in the living room, tucked up into my big sweater, practically falling asleep. Then I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I already knew that it was Jones telling me he was here, but I didn't feeling like getting up. Maybe if my mother and Mark hadn't woken me up at 7 am before they went to work and made me stay up so I wouldn't sleep in too late, I wouldn't be so tired.

There was a knock at the door. "Rin, come on!"

"It's unlocked."

The door opened, Jones standing there and looking over at me. "Rin, kid, let's go."

"Just come over here."

Jones sighed, sliding out of his shoes and walking over, sitting down on the couch just as I sat up. "I've gotta get back to class soon."

I moved to sit in his lap, knees on either side, kissing his cheek. "Did you get a good sleep?"

"Not really," Jones sighed, his head falling back, hands gripping my thighs.

I kissed his jaw, then his lips, pulling away long enough to say, "What time do you have to be back?"

He pulled his shirt over his head. "Soon." Then he kissed me, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

I moaned into his mouth, my fingers running through his dark hair before I cupped his face, then my hand trailed down his neck to his chest.

"Ah," Jones seethed.

I pulled away, immediately taking my hands off of him and sighing when I saw the red hand prints on his pecks, as if he'd been slapped really hard or burned. It was me, I knew it. We had been having that problem every single time things got heated - no pun intended. "I'm sorry..."

Jones smiled, slapping my backside enquiringly. "It's fine, Rin. Don't get all moody on me."

I narrowed my eyes on him. "Jones, something is happening to me."

"Arousal?" He smirked.

I rolled my eyes, standing up. "I'm serious, Jones."

"What do you want to do do, Rin?" Jones asked, standing and following me to the door.

"Just take me home," I said, discouraged already.

Jones gave me a look and just kissed my cheek and nodded. "Alright."

* * *

I sat in the living room, doing some of my homework, but getting distracted regularly.

I couldn't stop thinking about Jones and how many times I had burned him every time he ran his hands over my body. He didn't care that much, but it scared me. But I couldn't help it, and sometimes I had these thoughts about it, like when he gets out of the shower all hot...and wet...

I snapped out of my thoughts when I smelt something burning. A second later I noticed the piece of paper in my hand, on fire before my very own eyes. I gasped, running over to the sink and dropping it in, running the tap until the fire was out. I sighed, the worry growing inside of me.

What if I set Jones's hair on fire? Or burned him really, really bad? I was lucky that the burns were barely first degree, let alone third. I didn't even want to think about it, but I had no choice. I had to take precautions before I really hurt him.

Before I could think further, the doorbell rang. I quickly answered it, revealing a beautiful woman, her golden hair tucked up into a bun and a handsome man whose kind face made me trust him immediately. "Uh, hi."

She looked at me with confusion. "Hi. Who are you? Where's Johnny?"

"He's at work," I said, looking between him and her. "I'm Rin. Can I leave a message or something?"

The woman's mouth fell open slightly and she stared at me. "Marin?"

My brows furrowed at her. "Yeah, how'd -"

She lurched forward, making my heart jump as she wrapped her arms around me. At first, I thought she was attacking me, but she was only giving me a hug.

"Sue..." The man said hesitantly, hand touching her back.

She pulled away from me, holding my face. "You're so beautiful."

I smiled. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

She smiled, walking past me inside. "I'm Susan Richards. I'm Johnny's older sister. And my husband, Reed."

I laughed lightly. "Susan Storm and Reed Richards?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it just worked out that way."

I let out a big breath, shrugging mid-process. "Wow. Hi. Uh, I don't really know what to say."

Reed put his arm around Susan. "Let's sit."

* * *

When I went to find Johnny, I had never even considered his sister or dad or anything. My mom was an only child, so I had no aunt's, uncle's or cousins. I only had my mom and my grandparents, and until only a little while ago that was just fine with me, but things had changed and it was definitely for the better.

Sue and Reed were so cool, too. They were in Venice when Johnny called them and told them everything and they had just gotten back. They had one boy who was two and they were both scientists. There perfect life did not take away from the fact that they were both funny and kind, which made our meeting all the more comfortable. Reed was more of the sweet and slightly awkward, smart scientist while Sue was really straightforward and strong-minded...and competitive.

"Rematch!" Sue said, not impressed.

I laughed, watching Reed set the game up over again. "Whatever you want, honey."

The lock on the door clicked, it opening a second later, Johnny stopping when he saw the three of us sitting on the living room floor, playing a board game. "Uh, hey." He walked over to us, hugging his sister and Reed. "How was Venice?"

"It was amazing," Sue said excitedly. "Oh, the gondolas, they were incredible."

"Cool, cool." Johnny nodded, eyes meeting me. "I see you've met."

Sue smiled, back up and putting her arm around me. "She's wonderful, Johnny. You sure she's yours."

Johnny rolled his eyes, sarcastically saying, "Ha-ha."

Reed laughed, the picked up his coat. "Well, we should get going. God knows Connor is wreaking havoc for the babysitter."

"You have to come and meet our son some time soon," Sue said the me, then kissed my cheek. "Until then. You have my number, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright." She kissed Johnny's cheek. "We'll see you both soon. Tell Jones I said hi."

"Bye."

"Bye."

The door closed and Johnny turned to me. "I'm sorry, I forgot that she got back yesterday and was coming over."

"No problem," I said quickly, smiling. "It was really nice meeting her."

"Jones got you from your mom's?"

"Uh-huh."

"He coming back?"

"No. He's gonna stay at the dorm tonight."

Jones had been doing that more and more, and I didn't blame him. It must've gotten tiring going back and forth all the time between campus and here.

"Alright, kiddo," Johnny said, sighing heavily. "I'm goin' to bed. You should too - soon, okay?"

I nodded, sitting back down at the couch. "Yeah, I just need to finish this diagram for Biology."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Night."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 8:

"Focus, Rin."

I nodded, trying as hard as I possibly could've with all those wires stuck to me.

"Okay, now just heat your entire body up only slightly."

I felt the heat rise in my body. "Okay."

Reed clicked a coupe of things on his fancy computer. "Okay, good, good. Now think about Jones, okay?"

I became nervous. It was strange for me to know Reed on a personal level and on a doctorate level, but I wasn't really uncomfortable because I trusted him, and I mostly trusted him to not tell my own father that I had trouble keeping my fire under control when I made out with my college boyfriend. "Okay."

I thought about just the other day when Jones came out of the shower, towel hung loosely at his waist, his toned chest all smooth and glistening. I just attacked him at that second, his hands running all over me, his hot chest against me...

"Whoa!"

I looked up, noticing that the stressful gripped in my hand was fried. "Oh, my god." I dropped it quickly, looking up at Reed with wide eyes. "I'm sorry."

He sighed, scooting closer to my on his wheeling chair. "Marin, it's normal for a teenager to have their hormones skyrocket, but you have a gift that comes with it. If you don't want to hurt Jones -"

"I don't."

"Then you need to learn how to control it."

I nodded urgently. "Anything."

And we tried everything. We did the same thing over and over again and every time Reed would tell me to think about something off topic, but it would never work. We must've been sitting there for almost two hours, failing over and over again.

The stress ball fell from my hand, burnt to a crisp. I sighed. "It's hopeless."

"No, we're doing it again," Reed said, very determined. "Think of..." His eyes widened. "The cold. Think of winter."

"Okay."

"Okay, go."

I brought my body temperature up, feeling my hands start to tingle, then I thought about winter time and images of snow flashed through my mind, but Jones worked his way in. We were playing in the snow and making snow angels, snowball fights. We were both cold, everything was, but we were still together.

"Marin..."

I opened my eyes, quickly looking down at the stress ball in my hand; the perfectly fine, completely not burnt stress ball that was in my hand. My eyes widened, dropping the ball onto the floor. "Whoa."

"You did it," Reed said, sounding astonished.

I smiled. "Reed, you did it. Thank you." I stood, walking over to him and hugging him, being overly thankful for this session. "Thank you a million times."

"You're welcome, Marin."

"I'll see you Johnny's birthday next week, right?"

Reed smiled. "Of course."

I nodded, running out of the room and calling my mom.

 _"Hello?"_

"Hey, mom, it's me. I'm just walking to the bus station, alright? I'll be there soon."

"Okay, honey."

"Mark's cooking, right?"

"Yes...why?"

"Mom, to be real, Mark is an awesome cook and you..."

"Marin Dawn!"

I chuckled. "I love you," I sang, hanging up, my phone ringing a second later. "Hello?"

 _"Hey, baby. You done with Reed?"_

"Yeah, I'm just on my way to the bus station."

 _"You sure you don't want me to drive."_

"No," I said sternly. "You should study."

 _"Rin, I don't know about you taking the bus. There are some weird people of there."_

I thought for a second. "Jones?"

 _"What?"_

"You can drive me there if you stay for dinner. How does that sound?"

He hesitated on the other end. _"Dinner at your mom's?"_

"Yes."

 _"Kid, I'm not exactly the guy you bring home."_

I sighed. "Jones -"

 _"But I'll do it."_

I smiled. "She'll love you, I promise." Then I hung up soon after.

Jones had definitely met my mother, but they didn't have much time to talk. She knew only what I told her about him and I didn't want that anymore. I was trying to figure out how to get him to come over for a while and I couldn't think of anything better than dinner.

Today was turning out to be a really good day.

* * *

I stood in the kitchen, my mother and Mark talking about something as I stared anxiously at the front door.

"Marin."

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?" Mark asked me, very concerned.

"I'm just nervous."

My mom smiled. "Honey, I trust your judgement, okay? If you chose him, I'm sure he's perfect."

The doorbell rang and I bolted to it, fixing my hair before I opened the door, a smile making way to my face when I looked at Jones, his wild, dark hair tamed down a little and his unusually preppy-isn look. "You look...adorable."

"Shut up." He smirked, leaning down and pecking my lips. "Am I late?"

"Just in time." I pulled him in, taking his jacket and hanging it up.

"Jones!" My mom smiled widely, walking over and hugging him. "Good to see you again."

"Good to see you, Lauren," He said charmingly, making her blush.

"Hello, Jones," Mark said sticking out his hand. "Marin has told me so much about you."

Jones shook his hand. "Good things, I hope."

"Always."

My mom clapped her hands. "Let's eat!"

We all went to the kitchen, grabbing some food, then sitting down at the dining room table.

"So, Jones, what university did you say you were going to again?" My mom asked.

"NYU."

My mom gave him an impressed look. "Wow."

Mark nodded. "Very impressive, young man."

"Thank you, sir."

I smiled, bravely placing my hand on Jones's thigh. I continued to smile as I looked over at him.

He smirked, shaking his head at me discreetly. "Yes, I'm very fortunate to have gotten accepted."

"Are you liking it there?"

"Very much so, sir."

Mark nodded, my mother jumping in. "That's incredible. I'm sure you know that that's Marin's dream school."

Jones smirked at me. "Oh, I'm well aware."

Everyone laughed, me nudging his arm. "Hey. It's not like I'm obsessed or anything."

* * *

"Bye, mom!"

"Bye, Lauren!"

I laughed, pushing him. "Jones -"

Jones chuckled, putting his arm around me as we walked to his motorcycle. "Think she liked me?"

"Liked you? I'm pretty sure she fell in love with you."

He smiled, grabbing my jacket to stop me. "Hey..."

I stopped walking, turning to him. "What?"

He tipped my chin up, kissing my lips softly and sensually, then pulled away. "Nothin'. I just missed my girl today."

I smiled widely, pulling his arm over my shoulder as we continued to his motorcycle. Getting on and speeding off happened so fast and we really were home before I knew it, both me and Jones walking up the Johnny's apartment. We walked in, making sure to be quiet since all the lights were off.

I turned toward Jones, barely seeing him in the darkness. "Goodnight."

He hummed, leaning closer and kissing me. He pulled away a second later, leaving a load of sexual tension between us. "Rin..."

I couldn't take it. I jumped onto him, wrapping my arms around his neck, my legs around his waist and lips on his. His hands cupped my bottom as he clumsily walked around to the couch, letting us fall onto it. We both groaned at the impact, making me feel hot inside. My hands moved through his hair, tangling it from its neatness, gasping as his wet lips touched my neck. "Jones."

He moaned ever so softly, his hips meeting mine. At that sound, I reached down and then pulled my shirt over my head, revealing my pretty, white bra. His hands quickly travelled up to my chest, reaching behind my back to take my bra off, ready to slide it off before he pulled away.

"What?" I asked quickly, taking my hands off of him.

"No...it's just that you usually _would_ burn me by now."

I smiled lightly. "I've got this under control, Jones. I'm kind of a pro," I laughed, boosting myself up.

"Oh, okay," Jones said sarcastically.

I sighed. "I should go to bed."

Jones nodded. "Yeah."

"But, just real quick -" I said before he moved away. "What'd you get Johnny for his birthday?"

"A remote controlled helicopter."

"Seriously?" I asked.

Jones smiled. "He never had one as a kid and he said he always wanted one, so..."

"You're so sweet."

"I know."

I rolled my eyes playfully, pushing him away. "Alright, don't get cocky."

* * *

The next day was a lazy day for Jones and I, neither of us feeling up to doing much. Johnny was out running some adult errands, leaving Jones and I alone in the apartment, laying on the couch together, watching TV.

I sighed, feeling bored. "Jones?"

"Hm?" He hummed from behind me, serving his purpose as the big spoon.

"Don't you want to do something?"

"Like what?"

I shrugged as best I could while laying down. "I don't know. You're the one that lives here. I'm just a tourist."

"You live here now, kid."

"Well, I feel like I've barely seen the city and I've been living here for two months."

"Alright, alright," Jones said, leaning up, then standing up, holding out his hands. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

He smirked. "You'll see."

We went to the Museum of Modern Art, Jones exclaiming that 'art was important for our generation' and pretending to know what he was talking about when he explained the sculptures and other paintings and what not.

Then he took me to the central park, the crisp air forcing us to tug each other close as we walked around, Jones informing me on his childhood shenanigans.

We went for a really late lunch, then took the subway to Rockefeller Centre to skate as the sun set, which was my personal favourite.

"Ah!" I screamed and giggled at the close call. I could skate quite well. It was Jones, who was clinging to my arm, that was making me slip over the ice. "Jones!" I laughed.

"I can't skate, Rin!" He said in distress. "This was a terrible idea."

I laughed and pried his hands off of me, making Jones stop and cling to the boards as I skated off. I glide on the ice easily and I turn back every once in a while to see if he was alright. He was unmoved, still clinging to the boards of the ice rink. I had never seen him so vulnerable. It was hilarious.

I skated around the whole rink and made my way back around the Jones. I slowed and stood in front of him, offering him my hand. "Come on."

Jones looked at my hand warily and then gripped it tightly with his own. I lead him around the rink very, very slowly. And we almost made it until he turned his foot the wrong way and fell, bringing me with him.

"Ow," I muttered in pain as my knees and elbows hit the hard ice. Jones grunted and rolled over. I looked at him and couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't laugh at me," Jones snapped as he tried to get up.

I covered my mouth, but the laughter only grew louder. When Jones fell back down from his attempt to stand up, I laughed even harder.

Meanwhile, Jones was frustrated and started to untie his skates.

"What are you doing?" I asked, still laughing.

"Taking off these damn skates," He muttered.

I giggled. "You're just going to walk across the rink in your socks?"

"Yes," He said, very sure of himself.

I wasn't worried for safety measures. There was barely anyone out because it was had started to snow and it was pretty cold.

Jones stood up with his skates in hand. He walked all the way to the shoe holding in a sort of huff, like a frustrated child.

I stood and skated to where he was, taking off my skates and putting my boots back on. Jones, who had his shoes back on, waited patiently for me to put my shoes on. As soon as I did, we left the rink and went straight home, me teasing him all the way there, right to the moment we walked in through the door.

"Remember that time when you fell?"

"Ha-ha," He said sarcastically, glaring at me as he fell onto the couch.

I laughed lightly. "Hey, you did well." I sat down in his lap, kissing his cheek.

He looked at me thoughtfully, then smiled. "Thanks."

"What?"

"Nothing." He leaned up, kissing my lips quickly. He grabbed my legs, standing and then laying down, my back hitting the couch, him on top of me, reminding me of just the other night.

I giggled like a typical girl. "Jones..."

Jones kissed me on the lips, quickly peppering kisses down to my neck.

I moaned, but tried to warn him, as we were in the middle of the living room, completely exposed to the door. "Jones..."

"Rin," He mimicked my warning tone, and I could feel his smirk against my neck. Then he moved into a sitting position, his tight grip on my thighs taking me with him, making me sit in his lap.

My hands held his face, kissing him passionately. His hands stayed on my thighs, rubbing them tenderly. The he grabbed my hips, making mine meet his.

I gripped his hair tightly. "Oh, shit."

Jones breathed out, kissing my neck as I looked up at the ceiling. I moaned loudly as he grinded against me. Jones laughed quietly. "I love that sound." His hand reached up the back of my shirt, thumbing the clasp of my bra.

"Jones, I -" I moaned, then pushed him away. "Lock the door thingy right now."

"Door thingy?" He rushed out, standing and running to the door.

"The door thingy!" I yelled, pointing to that thing that would keep the door closed when someone opened it, only allowing an inch of space to open. I felt safer that way.

Jones did what I wanted then jumped back onto me, laying on top of me again, sliding my bra off of me, both of his hands cupping my breasts with eagerness. I bit my lip, trying to pull his shirt over his head. Jones leaned away, pulling off his shirt and unbuttoning his jeans as I did unbuttoned mine, pulling them down as best as I could. Jones gripped them, yanking them off for me, then stood and slid off his own. Both of us only down to our undies, we continued to make out. I didn't want to reach down and take off his boxers, so I just tried my best with my feet.

Jones pulled away and pulled down his underwear himself. He went back to kissing me as he hooked his thumbs under my own underwear. I put my own hands on his to encourage him.

Jones pulled away and looked at me. And for the first time in so long, I'd seen him look nervous.

"What is it?" I panicked. "Don't you want this?"

"Yes." He nodded fast. "But do you?"

"Yes!" I said surely.

"Okay, but..." Jones said breathily. "Maybe we can just...go slower."

"Slower?" I said, highly amused.

"Yeah, slower," He confirmed, making me giggle. His brows knitted together "Why are you laughing?"

"You sound like a girl," I said, still laughing.

Jones scoffed and started to pull down my underwear. "Yeah, I'll show you how much of a girl I am." My laugh settled to a smile as he threw my underwear across the living room. Then he reached down onto the ground and pulled a condom out of his jean pocket. I watched him to make sure that he did it properly, absolutely not taking any chances. When he was done, he looked at me. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." I nodded, our noses touching, feeling my nerves stir inside of me as I thought about before on the ice, watching his try and skate around, making the joy grow inside of me at how cute he was. I thought of the cold and I thought of him, how much I loved him. I did my best to not burn him and I did my best to just relax, but I really had nothing to worry about. Jones did just as I had expected. His hard exterior faded, his soft and gentle part of his personality shining through.

God, he was only making me love him more and more everyday.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 9:

I rifled through my closet, sighing heavily at my choices.

"Why are we dressing up again?"

I glanced over my shoulder. at Jones sitting on my bed. "It's my mom's promotional party. It's going to be a bunch of lawyers in one room. Do you really think that anyone's going to be wearing jeans?"

"Alright, you got me there."

I pulled out a tight, sleeveless, high-neckline, wine-coloured dress. "It's this or nothing."

"I vote for nothing."

I chuckled, slipping the dress on and turning around to face him. "How do I look?"

Jones's eyes went up and down my body, smirking. "Eh."

"Oh, really?" I smiled, turning toward the mirror and looking at my elegant-self. "I think it looks pretty good." I turned toward the closet. "And I have the perfect shoes for it, too." I slipped on my pointy-toed, black pumps, turning toward Jones again. "This looks good, right?"

Jones nodded, pursing his lips tightly. "Mm-hm."

I laughed. "What's wrong with you?"

Jones stood, walking behind me as I looked in the mirror. His hands touched my hips, slipping around me and hugging me close, my back to his chest. He breathed onto my neck before kissing it softly. "You look -" He looked up at me in the mirror, his eyes attaching to mine. "Beautiful."

I let out a soft sigh, closing my eyes as my head fell back against his shoulder. "Thank you."

Ever since that night, Jones had been so touchy, but I loved it. That was last week and he was taming down quite a bit, but he was still always touching me in someway, it seemed.

It was a day before Johnny's birthday and the day of my mother's promotional party, which we were supposed to be at at that exact moment.

I leaned away, turning around and kissing his cheek, pushing him back lightly. "Go put on your suit, okay? We should be there by now."

He kissed me softly, then slipped away.

There was a knock at the door, Johnny opening the door. "Rin?"

I smiled, looking him over. "Don't you look handsome?"

Johnny did a spin, eyebrows raised. "Why thank you. Except -" He stopped, walking closer to me. "I haven't tied a tie since high school graduation."

I laughed, reaching out and tying his tie. "You nervous?"

"Mark's cool, isn't he?" He asked, the nerves coming through in his voice.

I tried to smile comfortingly. "Very."

"I mean, he's not gonna, like, punch me or anything?"

I chuckled at the thought. "No. He's a paediatrician and one of the sweetest people I've ever known in my entire -" I tightened his tie, finishing it up. "Life. There you go."

"Thanks, kiddo."

"No problem."

"Alright, let's roll out," He said, walking out of the room, me following closely behind, Jones popping out of the bathroom and following behind me. We hopped into the truck and drove there as fast as we could, knowing that we would be a little late. We got there, twenty minutes late, the party in full swing.

Walking inside, the lights were dimmed slightly and the house smelled of wine.

"Marin."

I looked to my mother, smiling at her. "Hey, mom."

She hugged me, then pulled away and then looked me up and down. "I bought you that dress."

"You did."

"Marin."

"Mark." I smiled, hugging him tightly. "How are you?"

"Good, good. How are you?" He asked, leaning away and putting his arm around my mother.

"Good."

"Jones, son, how have you been?"

Jones smiled. "Good. It's nice to see you again, sir. You, too, Lauren."

Mark smiled and nodded while my mother blushed, then said, "Such a charmer."

"Lauren."

My mom turned around, walking away with Mark.

I looked behind me, seeing Johnny over by the food. I walked over to him, gripping his shoulder. "How's the food looking?"

He nodded, mouth full. "Good."

I shook my head, laughing lightly. "You just happened to disappear at the exact moment my mom came up to Jones and I, huh?"

His eyes shifted away from me. "Yeah, what a coincidence."

"Hey, Johnny."

Johnny turned around, smiling at Drew, who was dressed up as a waiter. "Drew, hey! You ended up getting it, huh?"

Jones's arm slid around my waist not so discreetly. "Hey, man."

Drew nodded toward him, smiling and unaware of Jones's glare. "Hey. Hey, Rin."

I smiled politely. "Hey. I didn't know you worked in catering."

Drew shrugged. "Your dad recommended me to your mom and now I guess I do."

Johnny put his arm around Drew. "He always was the best at cooking between the three of us. Jones is the worst."

Jones groaned, rolling his eyes. "It was one time."

I laughed.

The whole rest of the night was really good. And as people started to slip away, Johnny was more eager to leave, but I wouldn't let him.

"Talk to her," I begged. "Come on."

Johnny looked at my mom nervously. "She's gonna slap me in front of these people, I know she will."

"Johnny, man...man up," Jones encouraged, slapping his back roughly. "Go get 'em."

Johnny hesitated, then nodded. "Okay. Okay, I'm going." He started forward strongly, but faltered, Jones and I both pushing him quickly before he changed his mind. He continued forward, touching my mom's arm softly, letting her turn around, a weird look on her face before she hugged him. Then Mark shook his hand.

I sighed a sigh of relief. "Thank god."

Jones chuckled, nudging my shoulder. "You did it."

I leaned my head against his shoulder, able to with my heels on. "Finally feels like a family."

"And it just got competed."

I smirked, turning toward Lily. "Hey, Lil."

She smiled, hugging me, then Jones. "Jones, my man. Treating my best friend well?"

"Very," He said, putting his arm around me.

"Good." Lily nodded.

* * *

The next day was a hectic one. Getting ready for Johnny's party was very troubling. Everyone was packed in our little important and everyone wanted everything to be perfect. Johnny was such a special person who made everyone's life's better and he deserved a party that showed that we were all thankful for him.

Sue was pretty well running the whole thing, me and my mom helping whenever we could, but she still wanted everything so perfect, so she would go back and fix everything.

There was a banner hung from one cupboard to the top of a bookcase, gracefully placed over the living room/kitchen placement. There were balloons on the walls, but that was pretty much it. Sue didn't want to over do it.

My phone buzzed and I looked down, seeing that Johnny had texted me that he was just downstairs. I handed my phone to Sue. "Hey, Johnny just -"

"He's on his way!" She yelled.

Everyone hid in the kitchen, so when Johnny opened the door, he wouldn't see them straight away. I sat on the arm of the couch, facing toward the door to be the first thing when he walked in.

It only took him a couple seconds, and he walked in with a smile. "Hey, kiddo."

"Hey, Johnny..."

His eyes snapped to me with my tone. "What's wrong?"

"I think I forgot to say -"

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone jumped out.

Johnny's eyes widened for the first second, looking a bit alarmed, then he smiled widely and chuckled. "Holy shit."

I laughed, jumping up and hugging him. "Happy 36th Birthday!"

"Oh, don't remind me," He said lowly.

I pulled away, smiling. "You don't look day over 25."

He smiled. "Thanks."

Jones was next, saying something sweet under his breath, being his discreet-not wanting people to know he's actually nice sometimes-type of person. Then Susan got in there, followed by my mom, Mark, and the fifteen other people that were there.

Someone broke out the beer, making all the adults feel like they were back in college and all the people who were barely legal feel incredible, some underage people sneaking some away - Jones and the other people that worked at the club in particular. When it came around the presents, everything was in full swing.

"A remote controlled helicopter?" Johnny yelled excitedly.

Jones pointed to him. "Yes!"

"I've always wanted one!"

"I know!"

They hugged, I laughed, everyone laughed and continued on with presents. I watched Jones sway on his feet, then I decided that my present could walt until tomorrow. "Jones," I said softly, grabbing his arm.

He looked at me, his eyes glazed over. "What's up, baby?"

I smiled, putting his arm around my shoulders. "You have an 8am class tomorrow, so I think it's time for bed."

"No..." Jones pouted.

I led him to my bedroom away, letting him fall down, face first onto the bed. I chuckled, reaching down and taking off his shoes, then flipping him over and undoing his belt.

"Whoa," Jones marvelled, holding my hand. "Are you trying to have sex with me?"

I tried not to laugh at his drunk persona, pulling his pants down. "You'll thank me later." I pulled his shirt off, tucking him under the covers and sitting down on the bed, pushing his hair back. "Goodnight."

He smiled softly, eyes already closed. "Goodnight."

He was beautiful. I mirrored his smile, kissing his forehead before turning the light off and closing the door quietly. I returned to the party, watching Johnny relive his youth in beer pong.

"Rin!"

I looked up at Drew. "Hey."

"Where's Jones?"

"He's got an early class tomorrow, so I sent him to bed."

Drew smiled down at me. "So responsible."

I laughed, shrugging. "I try."

"Want to be my beer pong partner? I'll drink all the cups, I promise!" He said, as if it burdened him.

"Come on, Rin!" Lily yelled at the beer pong table, looking not exactly sober.

I thought for a second, knowing I shouldn't have, but I wanted to have some fun, so I nodded, saying, "Yeah, sure."

"Alright!" He high-fived me.

* * *

I woke up the next day on the couch, my eyes opening slowly, leaning up and looking over the couch at Sue and Johnny, who were cleaning up, laughing with each other. "Hey..."

They both looked over at me. "Hey."

I rubbed my face. "What time is it?" I gasped, realizing that I did, in fact, have school. "Oh, my god."

"It's 7," Johnny said, laughing at me. "Relax."

I nodded, falling back onto the couch. "Did you guys have fun?"

"Tons," I heard Johnny say. "And I barely have a hangover, I promise."

I chuckled, leaning back up and looking at him. "You look hungover."

Johnny shrugged. "I had my coffee."

Sue smiled, showing off her straight teeth and I realized that she looked like perfection and not at all like she had a hangover. "And some Advil."

I stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go get ready for school, alright?"

"'Kay."

I walked down the hall to my room, opening the door and turning on the light, seeing Jones's unconscious body on my bed. I walked closer, squeezing his shoulder. "Hey..."

"Mm."

"Hey, wake up. You've gotta get back to campus."

"Now?"

"Now."

Jones rolled over to the other side. "No."

I walked to my closet, getting changed quickly, then braiding my hair quickly, putting on some mascara. By that time, Jones was sitting up in my bed, still looking dead, but at least he was moving. I stood in front of him, pulling him up to stand. "There you go."

He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "Have a good day at school."

I smiled, squeezing his arm before walking out the apartment and into Johnny's truck, him joining me a second later. "Hey, Johnny..."

"Yeah?" He said, starting the truck.

"I didn't give you a gift for your birthday."

"No." He shook his head at me. "I told you that I didn't want you spending money on me."

"I didn't." I smiled, reaching into my bag and pulling out a pocket-sized photo that was taken on picture day from first grade and then one from this year. "I just..." I shrugged. "I don't know. I thought you'd want -"

"I love it." Johnny looked at me, then pulled out his wallet and slid both of them inside. "I really love them."

"Thanks."

Johnny chuckled, pulling onto the street. "Aren't I the one that's supposed to thank you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 10:

"Hey, kid," Jones greeted, walking into the apartment.

I glanced over my shoulder. "Hey."

"What are you working on?"

"Just this essay," I replied, sighing heavily. "I've been working on it for hours and I just..." I sighed. "I can't figure out -"

"Maybe you need to take a break."

I shook my head. "I can't."

"I think you can." Jones smirked, grabbing my book from my lap and holding it above his head.

I stood, running around the couch and trying to reach for it. "Jones, I swear to -"

He grabbed the front of my zip-up sweater, tugging me to him and kissing me.

I made a noise of surprise, trying to push him away for a couple seconds because I was still mad, but his persistence won me over, and I just melted into him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, humming as I stood on my tip-toes.

Jones grabbed my hips, spinning me around, and I felt my back hit the kitchen counter. Then he lifted me up, putting my on top of the counter as he broke away from my lips, kissing my neck.

"You're such an asshole," I breathed out, running my hands through his hair.

"How can I make it up to you?" He mumbled against my neck, reaching for the zipper on my hoodie.

I gasped, smacking his hand away. "Wait."

He leaned up, looking my in the eyes. "What?"

I bit my lip, not looking at him. "I'm not wearing a bra." It didn't matter how many times we had sex, I was still very insecure about my chest, and I thought that I always would be.

Jones smiled, licking his lips and reaching for my zipper again.

I sucked in a breath as the zipper moved further down my body.

When the sweater was fully undone, Jones grabbed either side of the sweater in his hands, pulling them apart gently. "Rin."

I opened my eyes, seeing that Jones was looking me in the eyes, not at my chest. "What?"

"Not bad for a cheerlead -"

"Shut up," I said, grabbing his face and kissing him again.

His hands slipped around me, holding me close. I moaned into his mouth when our lower halves touched.

"Jones..." I moaned, holding his shirt in my hand tightly.

"Again."

"What?" I said, confused at his command as I rubbed his back underneath his shirt.

"Say my name again."

I smirked. "Make me."

Jones didn't hesitate to slip his hand inside of my panties, his warm fingers moving over the most intimate part of me.

I gasped, moaning loudly as my nails ran across his back. "Oh, my -" I couldn't finish as I moaned again, my back arching, my chest hitting the front of Jones's t-shirt.

"Oh, shit." Jones backed away quickly, running toward the door.

"What?" I said, startled and confused.

"I promised that kid, that one I was telling you about - Kyle or something - I told him I'd come to game night."

I snorted. "Since when do you like game night?"

Jones shrugged while sliding on his shoes. "I figured that I'll be at this place for a while and so I might as well make some friends."

"Okay, well, when will you be back?"

He opened the door, shrugging before sliding out, yelling on his way out, "I don't know. Bye."

The door slammed. I reached down and zipped up my sweater, hopping off the counter and walking back over to the couch., returning to my homework that I should've had done by now. But before I could even pick up my pencil, my phone rang. I picked it up quickly. "Yo."

 _"Yo, yo."_

I smiled. "What's up, Lil?"

 _"Dude, I had to call and tell you that Brady and Callie broke up."_

"What?" I gasped, sitting up completely on the couch. "Oh, my god. But they've been -"

" _Dating for literally five years, I know. Apparently, he's been cheating on her, like, since they got together."_

"Oh, shit. How's she doing?"

 _"Callie's rough, man."_

"Oh." I pouted, missing my best friend and my other friends. "I feel so disconnected."

 _"Well, it's not like you can be in two places at once."_

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "I guess. I just wish I could have both without it being such a huge inconvenience to everyone I know."

 _"Hey..."_ Lily consoled, making me stop. _"I love you and we all miss you here, but we know you're not far away, alright? It's not a problem."_

"Thanks, Lil."

 _"How's the boy?"_

"Good, I guess."

 _"You guess?"_

I huffed. "What does it mean when he hasn't said 'I love you' but you totally love him. Hypothetically speaking, of course."

Lily chuckled on the other line. _"Maybe he's just nervous."_

"Jones is never nervous about anything?"

 _"Hypothetically?"_ She joked.

I rolled my eyes. "Lily, I'm serious. I don't want to be the first one to say it."

 _"Why?"_

"Because that person always gets their heart broken first."

 _"That's an insane logic, Rin."_

"Whatever. I can't even talk right now, I've got so much homework."

 _"Okay, well, I'll text you later, alright?"_

"Alright."

 _"Bye."_

"Bye." I hung up, tossing my phone beside me on the couch before falling back and looking up at the ceiling, sighing heavily.

I could've burst at any moment. I love you. I love you, Jones. Hey, Jones, I love you. I didn't know how or when to say it, all I knew is that I wanted him to say it first. That way, it'd be easier and I wouldn't have that burden on me. But Jones hadn't said anything and it was nearing the end of November. Johnny's birthday was a hot minute ago and Jones still hadn't said a damn thing.

I sighed, shaking it from my mind before picking up my pencil and going back to my homework.

* * *

I called Jones over and over again. It was late and he was supposed to be back by now. Maybe he'd fallen asleep at the campus, but I needed to know he was safe, so if I woke him up and he was grumpy, at least I'd know he was safe.

I called for the sixth time, finally hearing the ringing stop, then his voice come through.

 _"Hello?"_

"Jones!"

 _"Oh, hey, babe."_

"You were supposed to be home two hours ago. Are you okay?"

" _No, stop!"_ He laughed loudly, sounding a little far from the phone. _"Dude, cut it out, it's my girl."_ His voice returned again, but only for a second. _"Okay - dude, come on -"_ He broke out in loud and what I can only assume to be drunk laughter. _"A cat! It's a cat! A cat riding a skateboard!"_

"Are you playing charades?"

 _"A dog riding a skateboard!"_

"Jones?" I tried desperately.

The line went dead.

I sighed, putting my phone down on my bedside table and rolling over, too tired to try for him again. At least he was alive.

* * *

I woke up in the morning, thankful that it was a Saturday, giving me the privilege to wake up a little later and having a nice breakfast and taking my time eating it. I made pancakes and they were absolutely delicious. Then I was startled by someone walking into the apartment, no key unlocking or knock on the door.

Drew walked right in, pausing only slightly when he saw me. "Hey."

"Hey," I greeted, brows furrowed. "Uh, what're you doing here?"

"Johnny said I could come up. He says you make pancakes every Saturday and that they're amazing."

I shrugged, trying to be bashful about it, but feeling pretty proud. "I mean, they're nothing special..."

Drew sat down with a plate full, taking a huge bite of them after piling on the works. "Mm," He hummed, nodding and looking at me. "Uh-huh. I could go with this."

I laughed, looking up at the door again when it opened, Jones coming in.

"Hey, man," Drew greeted.

"Hey," Jones mumbled, sitting down at the table and grabbing some pancakes, the tension growing enormously.

"I think I'm gonna..." Drew stood, taking his plate with his toward the living room. "Eat these...yeah."

Once Drew was sitting down on the couch, I leaned over at whispered, "What the hell?"

"What?" Jones snapped.

I held my hands up in defence, leaning away. "Sorry, grumpy. I just thought that'd you'd maybe call me, or leave me a text, anything would've worked," I said, the anger coming through my voice.

"I was a little busy, Rin."

"Playing charades?"

"Bonding."

"God, when did you turn into Oprah?"

"Shut up, Rin."

I stood, letting the chair screech across the floor behind me. I walked away, but not before hitting his head. I walked right past him and out the door, right up to the stairway to get to the roof. I just needed some air. I breathed in the air as soon as I took a step outside, then I walked toward the edge, kicking the little part that rose at the edge, making sure that some kid couldn't just crawl right off. I stared down at the thick cemented part, my foot creeping up on it. I was just about to stand on it when I heard -

"Rin!"

I nearly fell over, whipping around. "Oh, my god, Jones, give me a little warning next time."

He stomped over, grabbing my arm and pulling me far away from the edge. "What the hell are you doing?"

I scoffed. "Jumping off."

He glared at me. "That's not funny. What if you fell?"

That made me laugh. "I was perfectly fine."

"Just don't do that, okay?"

"Fine," I complied, just so he would stop bossing game around. "What is with you, anyway?"

He groaned, running his big hand through his outgrown hair. "I've just been...school's been - I don't know - And I have this -"

"Hey, hey," I said softly, feeling bad about his distress.

"I'm so stressed about school, then you go tiptoeing around rooftops."

I took a step back. "Oh, my god, why do you care about that so much?"

Jones looked up at me, eyes angry, voice risen as he said, "Because I can't take the slightest risk of having you in danger because I can't lose you. I love you, Rin, and it's making me so fu -"

"I love you, too," I said softly, not even realizing at first.

I knew that I was going to burst.

Jones's demeanour softened, looking relieved. "You do?"

I chuckled, taking his hands in mine. "Of course I do. How can I not love you, Jones?"

He smirked, leaning closer to kiss me. "Thank god."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 11:

"I don't get it."

Drew gasped, pointing to the TV screen. "Lily, come on."

Lily shrugged. "I mean, is this supposed to be based in the future?"

I chuckled. "Lily, it's one of the most popular movies on planet earth. Star Wars. You have to know this stuff."

"Oh, my god." Lily rolled her eyes, groaning loudly.

Lily had been coming over more and so had Drew. I sensed a spark between the two, but both denied seeing anything in one another. Maybe it was the Christmas spirit making me see things. I mean, they acted so much more like brother and sister.

My phone rang and I picked it up, walking away from an arguing Drew and Lily. "Hello?"

 _"Hey."_

"Hey. What's up?"

 _"Look, babe, I won't be back tonight. I thought I could make it, but..."_

"Don't worry about it," I said quickly, knowing that Christmas Eve was pretty much the last thing on his mind with school. He had Christmas break, but he also had that one professor that piled on the homework every single break for reason unknown to everyone, so I hadn't see Jones too much in the last week.

 _"Oh, I love you,"_ He sighed.

I smiled. "I love you, too. Go to bed soon, okay?"

 _"I will. I'll text you in the morning."_

"'Kay."

 _"'Kay, bye."_

"Bye." I hung up, walking back over to the couch, looking at Drew watching the movie intensely and Lily, who was severely unimpressed.

"Rin."

"Yeah?" I said, looking at the hallway at Johnny.

"Come here."

I walked over and into his room where a mess of wrapping paper was. "Oh, god."

"I know. Sue is gonna hate her gift wrapping more than she hated third grade."

I chuckled, picking up one of the presents and some wrapping paper. "Let's just do it together."

He sat down, working on some as well. "So, you remember the plan?"

"Yes." I nodded. "The morning here with you and Jones, possibly just you, dinner at my mom's with Mark and then another dinner tomorrow at Sue's."

Johnny smiled. "Perfect."

"What'd you get mom?" I asked curiously.

Johnny smirked. "You know how your mother hates ABBA?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, right before we broke up, she said that she'd rather buy an ABBA CD than see me again."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Sounds like her."

"Well, we've seen each other again, so I just thought she'd want the CD."

I smiled lightly at him. "I can't believe you remember her saying that."

Johnny shrugged. "I loved her. I pretty much remembered everything that came out of her big mouth."

"Johnny..."

"Yeah?"

"If -" I stopped, then figured that I couldn't really go back now. "I know this will never happen and I don't even want it to because I - I love Mark and I like things the way they are, but..."

"But?" Johnny said eagerly.

"But...if mom just ran to you and told you that she never stopped loving you and that she wanted to just be with you. Wha - what would you say?"

Johnny stared at me, hesitating before saying, "You never really stop loving someone, Rin."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Yes."

"So you still love her?"

He smiled at me. "I"m very appreciative of her and I love her to a certain extent, yes. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because of her, I have you."

I smiled at him, my face probably red. "Thank you, Johnny."

He patted my shoulder. "Now get the hell out. I need to rap your present."

I stood, walking out of the room and back into the living room, Drew and Lily totally silent and watching the movie with much intensity. "Guys?"

"Ssh!"

"Ssh!"

They both hushed me.

* * *

I gasped, feeling someone grabbing my arm. I popped up, quickly turning on my lamp beside my bed and looking over my shoulder, seeing Jones sitting on my bed beside me. "Holy shit."

Jones laughed. "Hey, baby."

"You made it back." I smiled, turning my body toward him and cuddling up next to him.

His hand ran through my hair. "You guys are more important that school work right now."

I sighed and rubbed his chest with my warm hand. "I love you."

He grabbed my hand and held it against him. "I love you, too."

I bit my lip before asking the question that had been on my mind for a while. "Can you be completely honest with me?"

"Of course."

I sighed and sat up. "Do a lot of girls give you their number?"

Jones sat up too, chuckling. "What?"

"Do they?"

"I mean, it happens sometimes," Jones considered.

I groaned, slowly rolling over onto my side, facing the other way. "I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"Hey." Jones grabbed my arm, turning me over again. "What just happened?"

I tried to pulled my arm out of his grip. "Nothing."

"Rin." He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me, so I couldn't escape. "What's going on?"

I sighed. "You get hit on by girls, while I have to sit at home and worry about girls hitting on you."

Jones smiled and kissed my forehead. "Hey, I worry too."

I gave him a look. "No, you don't. Not like I do."

"What? Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're…you," I stressed. "And I'm…me."

"I can't help it if I'm handsome." He smirked.

I hit his chest lightly trying not to smile. "I'm serious."

Jones stopped smirking, rolling on top of me. "Kid, you're beautiful, okay? I do worry. I worry constantly. I know we're not supposed to, but I think it's healthy."

I tried nudging him away, but he didn't budge. "No one's giving me their numbers."

Jones rolled off of me, his brows furrowing as he did. "Why are we talking about this? Do you not trust me?"

"Of course, I trust you, Jones!" I whisper-yelled, sitting up. "I just - it's not...it's not fair."

Jones quickly rolled back on top of me and kissed me. "Let's not talk about it, okay? You're coming down for Valentine's, right? You get to stay in my dorm with me and what not. That'll be fun."

"Yeah, I guess."

"And I'll introduce you to everyone and it'll be great."

I smiled. "Yeah...I guess that'll be fun."

"It will be." He kissed my cheek. "You're my girl and I can't wait to show you off."

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Didn't you say that you had an early Christmas present for me? It better be a tattoo of my face."

Jones laughed, then kissed me.

* * *

I laughed loudly, watching Johnny excitedly rip open his present like a little kid, eventually pulling out a four pack of beer with his face on them.

He laughed loudly. "Holy shit!" He looked at me. "This is amazing!"

I chuckled. "There's more in the fridge. It's just beer, but the label has your face on it. Cool, right?"

"Yes!" He smiled, reaching behind him and tossing me a present that was definitely a piece of clothing wrapped up in wrapping. "I think we kind of had the same idea."

I unwrapped it, looking at the plain black front, turning it around to see Johnny's face covering the back of it, the same 'thumbs-up, big smile' photo I used for the beer. I laughed at our ridiculous sense of humour before saying, "Thank you!"

Johnny nodded, standing up and leaning down to me sitting down on the ground, kissing my head, then running to the kitchen and checking out the rest of his beers.

Jones grabbed my attention, telling me that it was time for my presents.

"What, no tattoo?" I smiled.

Jones smiled too. "Maybe next Christmas, kid."

"Wait," I said, grabbing the presents behind me and handing them to him. "Open mine first."

Jones took them without protest, ripping the first box apart. He smiled when he saw the first present. "Pyjamas."

"Your only have one pair that has way too many holes in it."

"Thank you." Jones leaned forward to give me a kiss, but I stopped him.

"You haven't even opened the other two yet."

He grabbed the second present, opening it slowly. He gave me a crooked smile when he opened it. "A new jacket."

"I know you needed one. This one is the Rag & Bone Chelsea Jacket. I thought it would look good on you."

"It looks awesome."

"I'm glad you like it." I smiled and pointed to the last present. "Open it."

Jones opened the last one, smiling lightly. "It's us."

I smiled, watching his pick up the polaroid of us - black and white photo of us on the roof of the apartment. Jones and I are laughing in it, looking at each other lovingly. It was a sweet one that I had lost months ago, but just recently found again.

Jones leaned over to me and pecked my lips softly. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

He kissed me once more before pushing my presents toward me. "Go ahead."

I felt myself getting really excited as I opened the first present. They were the softest looking slippers I'd ever seen. I loved slippers. I really, really loved slippers. "Oh, my god." I ripped open the packaging and put them on. "They're so soft." I looked up at Jones, who was smiling.

"Well, keep going."

I opened the next one, which was my favourite Yankee candle, lemon scented. I immediately opened it and gave it a whiff. "Ah," I sighed happily.

In the same box, was my favourite perfume; Joy by Jean Patou. I took that out and sprayed it on me, sighing again.

"Enjoying yourself?" Jones asked while laughing.

"Yes." I smiled. "Thank you." I leaned forward, but he leaned back.

"There's one more." Jones reached into his pocket, looking nervous. He pulled out a box that way too much like a box a ring would be in.

"Jones..."

Jones chuckled. "I'm not going to propose, kid."

I let out a laugh of relief. "Thank god."

Jones smiled, putting the box in my hand. "But it is what you think it is."

I gave him a nervous look before opening the box. It was a ring, just like I had thought. But it wasn't a ring with a diamond. It was a bronze ring. Instead of a diamond on the top, there was a flat circle with a delicate 'J' carved into it.

"Jones," I said, picking it out of the box. "It's beautiful."

"You like it?"

I laughed, feeling like I might've cried. "I love it."

"Come here, then."

I scooted over to him, kissing him on the lips and hugging him. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

I pulled away, slipping the ring onto my middle finger of my right hand. "Perfect fit."

Evan sighed. "I was nervous about that one."

"No, I love it. I really do."

Jones smiled. "And I love you."

I couldn't help but smile even wider. "I love you, too."

"Get a room!" Johnny yelled from the kitchen

* * *

I changed into the pretty sweater that my mom and Mark got me and we all sat at the dinner table together and ate dinner, talking about our morning and what not. It was just like any other dinner, really. The three of us played some board games and watched some old family videos, but by the time I was extremely tired. Johnny picked me up, him, Mark and my mom having a good chat as I waited in the car. Then we drove home and I went straight to bed, feeling exhausted from the day.

So I sat in bed and fiddled with my ring on my finger, realizing that Jones's hadn't texted me at all during the day or the time at my mom's house. He had been doing that a lot lately. Either way, Christmas was always the day I looked back on my life and realized how lucky I was to have the people I had in my life. Lily was my best friend and always, always there for me. My mom and Mark, both of them accepted who I was completely. Johnny was my father, you know, he was the funniest person I knew and I couldn't imagine not having him in my life. Sue was the sweetest and smartest person I've ever known. Her and Reed really felt like family. Then Jones, the guy I was in love with. He made me feel like the best person I could be and...well, I loved him more than anything.

I was lucky as all hell to be fortunate enough to have that many amazing people in my life.

So I slept contently that night, very sure that I was living the best life I could.

* * *

"He loves you."

I smiled up at Sue, then looked back down at their son Connor. "Do you love me?"

He giggled, holding out his arms.

"Awe," I said loudly, hugging my little cousin tightly. "Thank you so much!"

He slid out of my arms after that, running off.

Reed laughed. "He's really shy sometimes." He gestured to the lab. "Anyway you ready for you checkup?"

"Yeah." I nodded, walking into the room and sitting down in the chair across from him. "Ask away?"

"Any issues?"

"None," I said, proud of myself.

"Not with anger? Not with lust?"

I chuckled, embarrassed. "No. Neither."

"Good, good. So -"

My phone started to ring and I apologized, picking it up and looking at the ID. It was Jones, but he could wait five minutes. I ignored it, put it back in my pocket, and went back to listening to Reed.

"Right, so -"

My phone rang again and I rolled my eyes, picking it up. "Hey, I'm kind of -"

 _"Rin,"_ He said, sounding out of breath.

"What?" I said, somewhat alarmed.

 _"I'm downstairs and I need you to come with me."_

"Jones, wha -"

 _"Rin, please. Please just come down here. Please."_

"Okay. Okay, I'll be down in a second," I said quickly, then hung up, looking at Reed. "I...need to go."

"Uh, okay, but -"

"Tell Sue and Johnny Jones needed me, okay?"

"Okay."

I grabbed my coat, running down the stairs of the nice townhouse and outside, seeing Jones on his bike. "What the hell is going on?"

"Get on!"

I hopped on, slipping on my helmet and just barely grabbing his jacket before he sped off. "Jones!"

"My dad called me," He yelled.

"What?" I said in surprised. "Why?"

The wind whipped past us as he said, "He wants to see me."

"Is that where we're going?" I asked.

He nodded. I was silent the rest of the way until we pulled up to a nice townhouse, almost in the same neighbourhood. Jones got off his bike, taking his helmet off and leaving it on his bike, then he just stood there and looked up at the place.

"Are you okay?" I asked, rubbing his back.

He sighed, grabbing my hand and starting forward. "We're gonna do this?"

"Wait -" I stopped him, tugging him back. "You sure you don't want to do this alone?"

Jones stared at me, shaking his head. "Hell no. I need you for this, Rin."

I nodded, leaning forward and kissing his cheek, then I smiled and took the lead, walking up to the house and knocking on the door.

A man who looked strikingly like Jones appeared in the doorway. "Jones."

He wasn't at all how I pictured him. This man was a clean-cut, successful-looking man who seemed to have his life completely and totally together.

Jones let out a breath. "Dad."

The man opened the door wider, pulling Jones into a awkward hug. "How've you been, son?"

"Uh, good." Jones pulled away, gesturing to me. "This is -"

I stuck out my hand. "Marin Lake."

He shook it and smiled an unsettling. "Chris. Very nice to meet you, young lady." He stepped back, gesturing to a living room area. "Come on in."

We walked inside, Jones and I sitting down on the couch and Chris sitting down in a chair opposite to us.

"You have a beautiful home," I complimented.

Chris nodded. "Yes. So -" He looked at Jones. "So, son, what are you doing these days?"

"I got to NYU."

"Wow," Chris said in a monotonous voice, not actually sounded impressed. "Interesting."

"Yeah, well, Rin got me into it." Jones looked at me, then put his hand over mine.

I smiled, looking at Chris. "I didn't make him do it. It was really his choice and we wanted to do it."

"Hm."

I started to feel uncomfortable.

"Jones, go pour me a drink, why don't you."

"Dad, it's 1pm."

"What did I say?"

Jones patted my leg, standing up and walking to the kitchen.

I smiled awkwardly at Chris. "So, you -"

"You're dating my son?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

He nodded thoughtfully as he leaned forward and grabbing a newspaper. "Is he good to you?"

"Yes, sir. Very good."

He scoffed. "That's a first."

My brows furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"All the other girls never got to stay the morning."

I felt my heart drop at the thought of another girl being with Jones. "Oh."

"Why don't you go home, Mary," Chris said, looking me in the eyes.

"It's Marin," I said quietly.

"Here you go," Jones said, handing his dad his drink, then sitting down beside me. "Uh, where were we?"

"I should go," I said quickly.

"What?" Jones looked at me.

"Yeah, I should get back to Sue's." I looked at him, then whispered. "You'll be okay."

Jones hesitated, then nodded. "Okay, well let me give you a ride."

"No, I can walk," I said. "You stay here."

He nodded, then leaned in for a kiss, but I just stood, saying goodbye quickly, then walking out. I breathed out into the cold air and tried to think.

As long of Jones was happy, I would be happy for him. I was unsure about Chris, but...as long as Jones was happy.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 12:

I tapped my pen against the paper, trying to think for my homework.

The front door opened, Jones coming in. "Hey, baby."

"Hey."

He went straight to the couch, falling down onto it with a big groan. "I...am dead."

I laughed, getting up and walking over to the couch, sitting down beside him and rubbing my hand through his dark hair. "How was it?"

"Dinner with my dad or school?"

"Both."

He moved his face so I could hear him better. "School was alright. Jake and Greg were totally hungover in Lit and it was the funniest thing ever. And, uh, dinner with my dad was okay."

I hummed, moving his hair away from his face. "How are you feeling?"

"Cold."

I smiled, my warm handing running over his face. "Better?"

"Yeah." I turned over and sat up, pulling me into his lap, taking my hand and unconsciously playing with my ring. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," I said simply, leaning forward and kissing him. "I missed you."

"Yeah?" He mumbled against my lips, his cold hands sneaking up under my shirt.

"Yeah," I confirmed, kissing his cheek, then his jaw. "You know what's coming up next week?"

"What?" Jones said, breathless and not paying attention.

"Valentine's day."

Jones threw me down onto the couch, standing and pointing at me. "No!"

I laughed. "Come on, Jones! It doesn't have to be a secret. Just tell me what we're doing."

He started to walk away, but hearing my footsteps, he started for a run. We both laughed, chasing each other around the kitchen.

* * *

"And then he was all -"

"Lily -" I stopped her. "I think you told me this story five minutes ago."

Lily shrugged. "Yeah, but it pertains to what I'm saying now, just like it did five minutes ago. So anyway -"

"Lily."

"What?"

"I don't understand why you're conversation with a guy has anything to do with the epiphany you had at the grocery store."

"Well, if you would let me tell the story, you'd understand."

I shook my head and tried not to laugh. "Okay, tell your story."

"So as I was saying, he was all -"

"Rin."

I turned to see Drew, taking off his work apron. "Hey, Drew."

Lily gave me an incredulous look. "Seriously? I can't even finish my story?"

Drew laughed. "You can tell it on the way to the movies."

Lily grumbled. "Fine."

Lily, Drew and I were going to the movies.

Drew was a cool person. I had really underestimated him and I felt bad about, so I hung out with him more. He ended up being a cool person and Lily seemed to like him too. When a new movie came out that Lily and Drew really wanted to see, they were going to drag me along.

"Rin!"

I snapped out of it. "Huh, what?"

Lily giggled, gesturing to the door of the coffee shop we were in. "Are you coming?"

"Oh, yeah." I stood at the same time my phone went off. It was a facetime request from Jones. I had to decline, but I sent him a text message telling him that I was going to a movie, but I would talk to him later.

Jones knew that Drew was this newfound friend of mine and he lived with it because Drew was his friend too. He didn't like it, but he lived with it.

"Rin!"

"I'm coming."

* * *

"That movie was epic!" Lily yelled, giving a high-five to Drew.

"Wasn't it?" Drew agreed, then turned to me. "What'd you think, Rin?"

I shrugged. "I don't really like action movies."

"Well," Drew said, looking down at his phone. "I should get going. I'll see you guys later." He touched both of our arms before running off.

"Bye!" Lily called after him, waving. She sighed. "He has a really nice backside."

I laughed. "Is that the only reason why you like him?"

"No!" Lily said quickly. "He's so nice and he's pretty, too."

I laughed again. "Oh, yes, because you only ever like a person for their personality."

Lily smirked. "I can look past the appearance of people see them for who they truly are."

I nodded. "Right." My phone rang again. I picked it up and declined. I didn't know why Jones was still trying to reach me. I had texted him that I would talk to him when I got home.

"Is it Jones?"

"Yeah."

"When are you seeing again?"

"A couple days."

Lily nodded. "Oh, right. Valentine's Day." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Got anything special planned?"

I shook my head innocently. "No."

"Well, then." Lily smiled smugly. "Maybe he does."

"Lily," I groaned, linking my arm through hers. "He doesn't."

"I'm sure he does."

"Whatever." I smiled.

"Use protection."

"Lily!"

* * *

The week couldn't have passed fast enough.

I pulled into the parking lot and exited the car.

The place was huge and there were students walking around everywhere. Everyone was so close to me, whether they were running, walking, biking. Everything was moving so quickly and frantically.

"Watch out!"

I almost turned around before a hard body slammed into me, sending me to the ground.

I gasped my air. "Ah."

"Sorry, sorry." The weight left me. "I'm sorry."

I flipped onto my back and looked up into the bright sky. "It's okay."

The person was staring at me and it took me a while to realize that he was holding out his hand. "C'mon."

I put my hand into his and let him help me up. "Thank you." I brushed off my clothes and rubbed my arm.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine, thank you."

He held out his hand, this time for me to shake. "Justin."

I shook his hand with a polite smile. "Marin."

"Marin? That's a pretty name."

I barely blushed. "Thanks."

"Yeah, sorry about me knocking you down. I was just -" He flipped the football I didn't see before in his huge hands. "Playing some ball with the guys." He pointed to a group of muscular people across the parking lot.

I nodded. "It's fine, really."

"I haven't see you around. You new here?"

"No, no, I'm visiting my -"

"Justin!" One of the guys that was standing with his group of friends yelled. "C'mon, man!"

Justin looked at his friends, then at me. "Maybe I'll see you around, Mary."

"It's -"

He started walking away. "Seeya!"

"Okay, uh, bye!" I waved and then grabbed my bag, putting it on my shoulder, walking to what Jones described to me as the front entrance of the main building. I stood where I was supposed to stand, but he wasn't there.

I just turned to some girl before -

"Rin."

I smiled, turning around and wrapping my arms around Jones's neck and giving him a kiss.

Jones picked me up off the ground slightly and held my head in his hand, securing our kiss. When we pulled away, he set me down and smiled. "Hey, baby."

I smiled. "Hey."

He put his arm around my shoulder, leading me deeper into the building. "Shall I show the lady to her room?"

I laughed and slipped my around his waist. "You shall."

* * *

"And that building over there is the sports centre."

"Do you use it?" I asked, chuckling.

Jones looked down at me. "What's the supposed to mean?"

I laughed harder at his offended face. "Look, Jones, you're not the best at any type of sport."

"What?" Jones scoffed, showing off his muscles that he definitely had.

"Okay, but -"

"Jones, my man." Someone who was very familiar to me came up to us, bringing Evan into a 'bro hug'. He looked at me. "Mary?"

I nodded. "It's Marin."

"Right." Justin smiled. "Marin."

Jones hit Justin's shoulder. "Hey, man. What's up?"

Justin turned back to Evan. "I was looking around for you 'cause Greg and I are having that party tonight. You down?"

Jones nodded. "Yeah, I'm down."

"Just steer clear of Danny. His girlfriend's visiting and it's all he talks about."

"Girlfriend?"

Justin laughed. "Oh, yeah, man. And get this…she's in high school."

Jones hesitated, but laughed anyway as I stood there, confused and embarrassed.

Justin hit his shoulder. "I mean a high school girl, really? Like, c'mon, man. Am I right?"

"Yeah, yeah." Jones nodded awkwardly.

Justin stopped laughing and looked at me. "So Jones is your brother?"

I smiled and shook my head. "Oh, no, he's -"

"We're friends." Jones gave me a look.

My brows furrowed, but I played along. "Yeah, we're friends."

"Oh." Justin nodded. "That's cool that you visit."

I smiled as best as I could, giving Jones a look. "Isn't it?"

Justin nodded. "Well, why don't you come along to the party, then?"

I was taken back. "Oh, yeah -"

"No." Jones shook his head. "No, she can't come."

"Why not?" Justin asked.

"Yeah, why not, Jones?" I narrowed my eyes.

Jones narrowed his eyes back. "Because you're leaving before tonight, remember?" He said, just making up stories now.

I felt hurt. "Fine."

Jones nodded, feeling satisfied with himself. "Alright, man." He slapped Justin's arm. "We're gonna get going."

"Seeya, man."

"Seeya." Jones and I started walking away and I followed. "How do you know him?"

I rolled my eyes. "Does it matter? Are you really going to that party?"

"I don't know." Jones shrugged, then turned to me, smiling. "I'd rather spend time with my girlfriend."

I pulled away with a smile on my face. "Oh, I'm your girlfriend now? I thought we were just friends."

He groaned, taking himself away from me. "I just said that because…because I -"

"Because you're embarrassed by me?" I asked. "Because you don't want to be made fun of by your buddies? What is it, Jones?" I crossed my arms against my chest.

"Can we not fight?" Jones looked at me intensely. "It's Valentine's Day, Rin. Let's not fight, okay?"

I didn't budge. "How about, you go to the party and pretend to be single because you're being stupid right now, and we'll talk after."

"Fine," Jones said stubbornly, not sounding happy.

"Fine." I walked into the building and away from him.

* * *

I went back to Jones's room when I knew he'd be gone, to get ready for bed. I was just taking off my clothes when -

"Holy shit!"

I jumped under Jones's covers as fast I could. "Oh, my god!"

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" The guy asked.

"This is my boyfriend's dorm room. Who are you?" I asked, tugging at the bed sheets, still feeling exposed.

"I'm Jones's roommate," He said, walking into the room and walking over to the dresser beside the other bed in the room, grabbing a shirt. "Sorry about…you know." He gestured to my body.

"That's okay," I said quickly.

"Alright, well, I'm Jake." He held out a hand, but quickly recoiled.

"Marin."

"Sweet." He smiled kindly. "I take it Jones's not going to the party anymore?"

"What?"

"Well, since you're here..."

I rolled my eyes. "No. He went."

"Ouch," Jake said. "That's rough."

"Yeah," I sighed, shrugging. "So I'm just gonna hang around here."

Jake shrugged too. "Or you could go with me."

I gave him a weird look and laughed. "What?"

"That way you don't have to be bored here. I won't hit on you, I promise. I don't like high school girls and I don't do my friend's girlfriends."

I laughed nervously. "Yeah, that sounds - wait, no, I can't."

"Why not?"

I thought about it. Jones didn't control me. "I don't know. I guess I can go."

"Sweet." Jake nodded and started to back out the door. "I'll come back when you're not half-naked."

I nodded. "Sounds good."

* * *

Now at the party, I was less eager to show Jones up and just wanted to go home.

"You good?"

I nodded to Jake. "Yeah."

"Do you wanna dance?" He asked, dancing slightly.

I shook my head. "No, no, I - I don't really dance."

"Oh, c'mon." Jake smiled charmingly and grabbed my hand. "Let's dance!"

I let him pull me onto the floor as he danced and I uncomfortably shuffled.

Jake placed his hands on my hips and I immediately back away. Jake laughed. "I'm not trying to get with you, Marin. I'm just trying to teach you how to dance," He yelled over the music.

I nodded as Jake's hand moved my hips roughly. He hands smoothly slid up my waist and I suddenly felt dirty. Jake didn't noticed and put my arms up, turning me around and grabbing my hips against, pushing my back against his chest.

I turned around, but Jake's pulled me to him and grabbed my arms putting them around his neck. I felt his mouth close to my ear. "Jone's been glaring at me since we showed up. Are you not supposed to be here?"

I turned my head to see Jones with a hard glare at me. His mouth was shut tightly and his arms were crossed, highlighting his muscles even more in his tight shirt. He looked _hot_.

"Not really," I said honestly.

"Are you trying to make him jealous or something?"

"Not really," I said again, still being honest.

Jake pulled back, arms still slung around my waist. "Why not?"

I shrugged. "I wouldn't want him to do that to me."

"Well, then try not to feel to guilty about this."

I looked at Jake in confusion. "About wha -"

He spun me around and pushed himself against me. I gasped as he pushed my arms up and around his neck. They trailed down my sides and I felt ticklish. "C'mon, Marin," Jake whispered in my ear. "Move your hips. Make it look believable. Dance. Be sexy."

I nodded, moving my hips to the beat of the music. Jake's hands we all over me, except for the places they shouldn't have been. I missed Jones so much and I missed being touched by him. I wanted Jones, not Jake, but Jake sure knew what he was doing because it felt nice. Jake's hand touched my ring on my middle finger and it set me off. I felt dirty as I thought about what the hell I was doing. I was just about move away before someone caught my arm, and I doubted that it would've been anyone but Jones.

"Oh, hey, Jones," Jake said casually.

"Hey, _buddy,_ " Jones seethed. "Do you know how old she is?"

Jake shrugged, still dancing. "She's hot."

Jones growled and I saw his arm twitch. I grabbed his arm with both of my hands as fast as I could. "Hey, maybe we should go."

"Fine," Jones agreed, putting his arm around me and rushing me out of the frat house. When we got outside, Jones put his hands in his pockets and started walking away.

"Jones." I ran after him. "I can't walk that fast." He didn't slow down. "Jones!"

Jones groaned, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. "What the hell were you thinking?"

I sighed, probably resembling a rag doll over his shoulder. "I don't know."

"I mean, really, Rin, what was your game plan in there? Make me jealous to get back at me?"

"I don't know, Jones. Can you put me down?"

"No." Jones hit my backside and I squealed.

"Jones!"

"You're being a very bad girl."

That tone was making me feel warm inside. "Oh, yeah?" I said bravely. "And what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing."

My mouth fell open. That sexual conversation came to an abrupt end. "Nothing? Jones, you haven't done anything all day. It's Valentine's Day."

"I did have something planned for tonight, but I'm not really feeling it anymore."

I tried to think of a way to intrigue him. "I bought lingerie for this weekend." Jones slapped my backside again. "Jones!"

"That's for trying to manipulate me."

I sighed. "I hate you."

"I know."

* * *

After we got back to his dorm, he just went straight to bed. We didn't talk about anything or try to make up. He just went to bed.

So I, of course, felt the need to mend us back together. Other than that, I just wanted to wear the lingerie I had bought for the weekend. So I put on the lingerie and a robe and walked into Jones's room, opening the door and whispering, "Jones."

"What?" He said in the darkness.

His room had one of those fancy knobs that dimmed the lights, so I turned it up just a little, making a dim light come on, then I sighed. "Maybe it's late, but it's still Valentine's Day."

Jones turned over in his bed, rubbing his eyes. "What is it, Rin?"

I closed his bedroom door and undid my robe, revealing the sexy, red babydoll lingerie. matching red underwear underneath. It was something I'd never thought I would've worn, but I thought it was really cute. I thought Jones would've liked it and it looked like he did.

I smiled and did a twirl. "Do you like it?" I thumbed the hem of the sheer top nervously.

He still looked tired and his eyes ran over my body. "Get over here."

I blushed, walking over to him and sitting in his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," He said softly.

I smirked. "I know how you can make it up to me."

The rest of the night was bliss, and then we fell into a deep, deep sleep.

I woke up to Jones laying beside me, his head on my chest. I smiled and kissed the side of Jones's head, running my hand through the dark strands.

He stirred, then sat up a little bit and kissed my neck lightly. "I love you so much." He sat up, leaning forward and kissing me.

The door swung open. "Hey, dude - holy shit!"

Jones fell on top of me again, covering my body. "Jesus." He sighed and turned his head to look over his shoulder. "Dude, get out!"

"Okay!"

I heard the door close and I laughed, Jones laughing too.

"Was that your other roommate?"

Jones nodded

"Jones, I need to pee!" I heard from the other side of the door.

Both of us laughed harder.

* * *

"Boo! Boo, you suck!" I yelled jokingly.

Jake, Jones's roommate who had apologized immensely, laughed and cupped his hands around him mouth. "Boo!"

"Shut up, you guys," Jones said, peering over his shoulder. "I can't focus." He looked back at the lane at the pins, bowling ball in hand. He reared the ball back and let it go. He knocked down nine out of ten pins.

I cheered and clapped my hands. "Good job, baby."

Jones gave me a winning smile before hitting the last pin and walking over to Jake and I, sitting in our booth. "I think I'm about to win."

I scoffed. "We'll see."

Jones sighed, watching Jake stand. "Oh, yeah. I forgot that Jake, somehow, always wins at everything."

Jake got strike and walked back over to us. "Both of you own me some onion rings."

I laughed. "Well, sit down, then and we'll be back with your onion rings."

Jones and I got out of the booth as Jake sat down. We walked over to the concession and ordered onion rings, splitting the charge.

"Jones, hey." A perky blonde came up beside Jones.

"Oh." Jones visible paled and I smirked. "Mindy, was it?"

The girls smile faltered slightly. "Mandy."

"Right." Jones laughed forcefully and gave me a glance.

"You never called." I crossed my arms and the girl looked at me, like she didn't like me already. 'Who's this?"

I looked at Jones with my eyebrows raised as he stuttered. "This - this is my…my..."

I sighed and held out my hand. "I'm his friend Marin."

"Oh." She smiled and shook my hand.

Suddenly Jones's arm came around my shoulders. "Don't be so shy, baby. This is my girlfriend, Mindy."

"Mandy," She corrected with a tight smile and looked at me. "You called her and not me?"

I bit my lip to hold in a laugh as Jones nodded. "Actually, we've been together for…how long has it been, babe?"

I pretended to think. "Probably, like, a five months…or something like that"

Jones smiled. "Something like that."

Mandy/Mindy pursed her lips. "Okay. Well, maybe I'll see you around, Jones."

Jones nodded. "Sure."

She walked off and I laughed. "That was great."

Jones grabbed my face in both of his hands and kissed my lips for a good ten seconds. He pulled away and smiled goofily. "I love you."

I laughed. "What was that for?"

He shrugged. "I just love you."

"Well -" I wrapped my arms around his waist. "I just love you, too."

"Onion rings!" The bell rang.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 13:

I sat in the movie theatre while Drew and Lily laughed loudly beside me. I stared at the screen with a hard expression. The movie wasn't that funny to me.

"Oh, c'mon, Rin." Lily elbowed me. "Stop being a miserable person and enjoy the movie."

"I am."

"Bull." Drew laughed. "What's going on with you?"

"It's Jones," Lily whispered not so quietly to him.

"I can hear you, Lily."

Lily ignored my comment. "So, you haven't seen him for like two weeks. What's the big deal? Isn't he coming, like, tomorrow or something?"

"Yeah."

"Then why are you so miserable?"

"I'm not miserable." I looked at Drew. "Am I miserable?"

He shrugged. "You don't look all too happy, Rin."

I sighed. "I just don't feel good. I'm kind of tired, too. I think I'm gonna go home actually." I stood quickly before they could protest and walked out of the theatre. I was on the sidewalk when someone caught my arm.

"Hey, you okay?" Drew asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded. Then I started crying like an idiot. "I just miss him so much and I feel like...I don't know."

Drew pulled me into a big hug. "Hey, it's okay."

I hugged him tightly and cried into his warm chest before pulling away and wiping my eyes with embarrassment. "I just miss him. I can't wait until tomorrow to be hugged by him, kissed by him..."

Drew's lips were on mine and it took me a long second to realize before I pushed him away lightly and wiped my mouth.

"Rin..."

I shook my head, still in shock. "No, no, it's fine. Let's pretend that didn't just happen."

"I'm sorry." Drew seemed sincere and embarrassed.

I nodded. "It's fine." I started walking away awkwardly. "I'm gonna go."

"Uh, okay, seeya, Rin."

"Bye, Drew." I walked away quickly and practically ran home. When I got there, I rushed upstairs and bumped into Johnny on the way.

"Hey, kiddo." Johnny furrowed his eyebrows. "You look -"

I pushed him out of the way and rushed to the bathroom, just barely opening the toilet seat before throwing up into the toilet.

"Whoa. Rin?" I heard Johnny from the doorway. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay." I got up and flushed the toilet.

Kissing Drew litterly made me throw up. I was sick. Sick in love. This couldn't have been healthy. I loved Jones, but was it possible to love someone too much?

"Should I call someone or - I don't know -" Johnny said, freaking out.

"No." I shook my head. "Really, I'm fine. I think I just ate something weird at the movies." I walked over to him and patted his shoulder, then walked to my room and fell down on the bed, still feeling unsettled.

* * *

I felt much better the next day, seeing Jones. My stomach flipped and turned the other way.

"Jones." I wrapped my arms around him, really feeling like it had been forever since we had even talked, let alone touched each other.

Jones breathed in deeply. "Rin."

I smiled into his shoulder. "I missed you something terrible."

Jones laughed. "You have no idea."

I pulled away and gave him a kiss before Johnny interrupted us.

"I want a hug."

I laughed, stepping away and letting Johnny give Jones a big, somewhat manly hug.

"It's really weird not having you around."

Jones was spending everyday and night at campus. If he wasn't there, he was trying to spend time with his dad.

Jones chuckled, patting Johnny's arm. "I'm sorry, man."

"Anyway -" Johnny sighed, walking past us to the door. "I was just about to head down to the club. Drop by if you're not busy, alright? Everyone misses you there."

"Sure, man."

Johnny smiled, then walked out the door.

I jumped onto Jones, wrapping my legs and arms around him. "I missed you so much." I kissed him eagerly, moaning softly after feeling him run his hands over me.

We went straight to my room and even then, once wasn't enough.

I giggled as I rolled on top of Jones, kissing his neck. "Again?"

"Rin," Jones protested.

"What?" I mumbled into his neck.

"Stop." He pushed me away lightly and smiled just slightly. "Let's just watch a movie or something."

I laughed. "Why?"

Jones got out of bed and put on sweatpants, no underwear and just walked into his living room and sat on the couch, turning on the TV. I was confused, but put on my clothes and sat beside him, cuddling into his side. He scooted away from me a little.

"Rin..."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Jones gave me a look I'd never seen before, then he sighed deeply. "I just been thinking about some things."

"Okay..." I encouraged him. "What is it?"

"Rin, I'm in college."

I laughed. "Wow, thanks for letting me know."

Jones didn't laugh. "I'm in college, and I'm going to be there for a while."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What's your point?"

"You're in high school and you're gonna be there for a couple more months."

I scoffed. "You are not doing this right now."

"What?"

"Are you going to try to tell me that we need to 'take a break'?"

Jones shrugged. "Well -"

"Oh, my god!" I stood up angrily.

Jones stood up too and caught my wrist before I could walk away. "Rin, listen to me. I just don't see how it's going to work when -"

"We're not that far away from each other! And I plan on going to NYU, you know that."

Jones sighed. "You deserve someone who will be there for you whenever you need."

"You are!"

"No, I'm not!" Jones yelled angrily. "I can't be that guy that will be there whenever you need him, Rin"

I felt my eyes well with tears. "Why are you doing this now? Where the hell is this coming from?"

"It was something my dad said the other day and -"

"Your dad?" I said unbelievingly. "You're going to listen to him?"

"As much as he's an asshole, he's also right about us. I can't be there for you, Rin, and even if you don't want to admit it, neither can you."

"So you're taking his advice all the sudden?"

"He's a smart guy. An asshole, but a smart asshole."

I sniffled and gave him a hard look. "Know what else he is? He's alone, Jones. Do you really want to be like him?"

Jones gave me a hard look back. "I'd rather be alone than be with someone I can't even be with."

I wiped away the tears when the started to flow onto my cheeks. "Fine." I turned and walked away angrily.

It was just a fight. We would talk about it later when he wasn't being so delusional.

* * *

We didn't talk about it later, and we didn't talk about it the next day at an awkward breakfast. And we didn't talk about it later that day either. In fact, we didn't talk at all. Jones never even looked at me.

Johnny knew something was going on, but no he didn't say anything.

I stood when Jones was making his way to the door to leave. "Jones."

Jones looked at me for the first time since last night. "Yeah?"

"Can we talk?"

He nodded after a couple seconds. "Yeah." He followed me into my bedroom, away from Johnny's listening ears. "What…what's up?"

I just blurted out what I really wanted to know. "You weren't serious, right? You were just having a moment of weakness?"

Jones sighed. "No, I wasn't, Rin."

My shoulders slumped and my heart broke a little "You really think this is what is right?"

Jones took a second before he nodded. "Yes. Yeah, I think that this would be the best thing for both of us."

I still had a hard timing believing that he could just cut me off so quickly. "Is there another girl?"

"No."

"Don't you…love me?"

Jones laughed bitterly. "Of course I love you. I'll always love you, Rin. But it's not enough."

I felt my eyes start to water again and I suddenly couldn't even look at him. I slid the ring he gave me off my finger, throwing it at him, then turning away. "Fine. Just get out."

"Wha - what?"

"Get out."

"Okay." He stood and hesitated before leaning forward and kissing my cheek. "I'm sorry."

"So am I," I mumbled. I stood still until I heard the door close and I flung myself onto the bed, crying violently.

I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was _dying._ I thought I knew pain. I thought I knew hurt, but this was something else. It felt like my heart wasn't breaking, it felt like it was ripping and tearing from the inside out. Then all the parts were falling into the bottom of my stomach.

It physically hurt me as I laid on my bed, feeling my heart tear inside of me.

* * *

There was a knock at my door just as I opened my eyes.

"Rin?"

I didn't look or speak. I just laid still.

"Rin?" Lily said faintly. "Are you ready for the movies?"

"Rin?" Drew said, sounding worried. "Hey, Rin?"

I staid still. "Go away." I croaked out.

I felt their weight on the bed as they ignored me. "Rin, it's been, like, three days. What even happened?"

My face didn't move and neither did my body, but tears fell over my eyes. "I'm sad."

"We can see that." Lily's hand came on my face and wiped away my tears. "What happened?"

"He broke my heart," I said, barely getting it out.

Lily shook her head. "Oh, baby. It's just temporary."

I shook my head, moving for the first time. "It's not."

Lily's phone beeped. "Shit." She looked at Drew. "I have that..."

Drew nodded to her. "I got it."

"No, I can cancel. I can -"

"Lily." Drew pointed to the door. "Go."

Whatever Lily had, I couldn't remember. I couldn't even think, but I managed to say, "Go."

Lily shook her head. "I can't leave you like this."

"I'm here," Drew said.

Lily looked at me. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay." Lily kissed my cheek. "I'll come back later, okay?"

I nodded as she got up and said something to Drew before leaving. Drew came and sat beside me on my bed. "Hey."

"Hey."

"You don't have to tell me what happened, but -"

"Why'd you kiss me?"

Drew seemed taken back. "What?"

"After the movies a couple days ago," I said, looking at him. "When you kissed me. Why'd you do it?"

Drew shrugged and laughed nervously. "Because you're beautiful?"

A few tears fell onto my cheeks as I launched myself forward and landed my lips on his.

Drew pulled away very quickly. "Rin, I don't think -"

"Please," I begged desperately while crying pathetically. "Please, kiss me."

Drew shook his head. "This isn't what you want. I'm not what you want - who you want."

"But you're what I need right now. Can you be that for me?" I asked, trying to guilt trip him. "Be there for me, Drew, please."

Drew studied me for a minute before nodding. "Just a kiss."

I kissed him again, and when he pulled away I got into his lap.

If Jones didn't love me like he did before, maybe Drew would. If Jones didn't think I was beautiful anymore, Drew did. Drew would kiss me and never break my heart. Drew would kiss me and not break my heart. Drew would kiss me. Drew wouldn't break my heart.

"Rin," Drew breathed out, sounding nervous as I kissed his neck. "I don't think this is -"

I started to unbutton his shirt. "Don't you want this? Don't you want me?"

Drew hesitated. "Yeah, but -"

"Good." I undid his jeans and kissed him again. I got off his lap and stood up, pulling my shirt over my head to reveal my braless chest.

"Good god." Drew gasped, covering his mouth and shaking his head.

I pulled down my underwear and got back into his lap, kissing his neck as he tried to pull down his jeans.

* * *

I laid in my bed alone, hand running over my pillow, thinking about Jones and Jones only. I was completely pathetic, but how could I not be? I loved him more than anything in the entire world and he completely broke my heart.

Then my pillow went up in flames.

I gasped, sitting up and covering it with my blanket, putting it out.

I hadn't had an incident where I couldn't control myself in such a long time. Why did I have a feeling that it was only the beginning?

Johnny knocked at my door, then waited a second before opening the door. "I'm just going to work. You alright here alone?"

"Yeah."

Johnny sighed, looking me over. "You need anything?"

I just shook my head.

"Okay, well, don't wait up for me."

"Okay."

Johnny closed the door.

I looked back at my burnt pillow. Well, shit.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Fantastic 4' or "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer' plot/characters ect.

A/N: This story is set in the future

* * *

Chapter 14:

I spun around in the chair, looking up at the ceiling as I did.

"Marin."

"What?"

"Focus, please."

I sighed, looking back at Reed. "Okay."

"Alright. Go ahead and stand up."

I stood, wearing a ridiculous, navy-blue, full-body suit that was supposed to protect me from myself. "Done."

"Now start off slow."

I held up my pointer finger, a single flame coming from it. "Bam."

"Good. Now turn up the heat a little, please," He told me, sitting behind his computer and typing away. "And tell me outloud what you're thinking about, okay?"

I held up both my hands, both of them producing balls of fire. "I'm thinking of summer. Camping trips with my mother. The happiest times of my life. I'm trying to think positively."

"You're not thinking at all about Jones?"

The fire from my hands travelled up my arms, different flames crawling up my legs in a matter of a second. "I wasn't before."

"Sorry," Reed said quickly. "Just tone it down, please."

All the fire from me disappeared as I started to feel a little faint. "I don't feel so good."

"We can stop."

"No." I shook my head. "I can keep going."

"Rin..." Reed sighed, walking close to me. "You've been struggling with this three months, ever since -"

"I know," I interrupted, not able to hear his name even just once more. "I'll work on it, okay?"

"Rin, it's dangerous. Have you seen him since he got out of school for the summer? He got out last week , didn't he? Maybe reconciling in some way would help you."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, picking up my clothes folded not too far away and walking off to the bathroom. As soon as I changed, I walked back out, holding the suit out for him to take.

"Keep it."

I stuffed it in my bag, walking out of the cute little townhouse quickly.

* * *

I closed the door behind me, walking into the living room and sitting on the couch between Drew and Lily.

"Well, how'd it go?"

"Fine," I said, switching the channel on the TV.

"What is wrong with you?" Lily asked me, standing up.

"Lily..." Drew said, sounding nervous.

"No! Rin, you're such a drag to be around now. I get that Jones -"

"Stop talking, Lily!" I yelled, standing up, turning around and heading to my room.

"You're so moody lately. It can't just be this breakup."

I rolled my eyes, turning back around. "And what's your genius idea, Lil?"

Lily sighed, looking at me with sadness. "Rin, what if you...I mean, what if you're, like, pregnant or something crazy like that?"

"I'm not," I said quickly and very sure of myself.

"I think you should be 100% sure."

"I am," I said in a hard tone.

Lily grabbed her coat. "I'm gonna get a test and you can't stop me."

I watched her walk out the door. As soon as it closed, I picked up a book from the book shelf and was about to throw it across the room, but before I could, it went up in flames. I groaned, walking over to the kitchen and dumping it in the sink, running the water. I sighed heavily, leaning against the counter.

"Rin..."

I put out my hand for silence. "Drew, I just need a moment, okay? Some air," I said, walking around him, grabbing his coat and walking outside the apartment, down the stairs and out the door, quickly taking a breath of the warm air, finally feeling like I could breathe.

I leaned against the brick wall, stuffing my hands into Drew's pockets, my hand touching a box. I pulled it out, looking down at the cigarettes. Then I reached in again, picking out a lighter. I hesitated, but ended up picking a cigarette out of putting it between my lips, holding the lit lighter up and lighting it. I took one puff, immediately coughing after. I took a moment to cringe before I took another puff. I really started to feel relaxed, and every puff came easier than the last.

I wasn't really one for habits, but I might've just developed a bad one.

I closed my eyes, looking up at the sky as I blew out some smoke, closing my eyes as the cigarette came between my lips again.

Suddenly the cigarette was taken from my lips and being thrown to the ground. "I don't ever want to see that thing in your mouth again."

"Why?" I asked, still in a daze from his fast movements.

"Because it's bad for you."

Once I realized what was going on, I was agitated. "You used to smoke all the time."

Jones stared me down. " _Used_ to. Key word, kid."

"God, what do you care anyway?" I asked, pushing him away.

Jones groaned, seeming annoyed. "I still care about you, Rin."

"Could've fooled me," I said coldly, pulling out another cigarette.

Jones snatched it from me, a furious look on my face. "Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Yes!"

"Well, you're doing a damn good job!"

"Great!" I yelled, pushing him as hard as I could. "Now get away from me."

The door behind me opened. "What the hell - Jones."

Jones sighed. "Hey, man."

"Hey." Drew then looked at me and his cigarettes on the ground. "Were you smoking?"

"Yes," Jones answered for me, his angry tone returning.

"Rin!" Drew chastised. "You can't do that. What if you're -"

I covered his mouth quickly, eyes wide. "Shut up, Drew."

"What if you're what?" Jones asked.

"Nothing," I said quickly, sliding past Drew and walking up the stairs to the apartment.

"Rin..." Drew followed behind.

"Rin!" Jones said angrily, his footsteps the loudest of the three of us. He followed us up to the apartment, slamming the door shut. "What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing," I insisted, not even able to look at him.

Jones walked closer to me. "Rin, look at me."

I sighed, looking him in the eyes.

"I've got it!" Lily screamed, running into the apartment, waving a pregnancy test around in her hands. She stopped when she saw Jones and glared. I looked at Jones, who had narrowed eyes at the box in Lily's hand.

"What...is that?"

I sighed. "Lily -"

"You!" Lily stomped over to Jones and slapped him across the face. I gasped and Lily smiled smugly. "That's for breaking my best friend's heart, asshole."

Jones ignored her and looked at me, eyes still narrowed, voice shaky. "You think you're pregnant?"

I shook my head. "No, no, I -"

"She might be," Lily said loudly, handing me the test. "We're about to find out."

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" Jones asked, sounding angry.

I stuttered nervously, putting the box on the counter. "I - I thought - I just -"

"Whatever." Jones shook his head. "Can you just - just take the test."

I nodded, starting to walk away, but didn't get very far because I heard Lily make a vicious comment.

"If she is pregnant, I hope you're not the father."

I spun around. "Lily!"

Jones's mouth fell open as he looked at me. "What _the fuck_ is she talking about, Rin?"

I felt the need to defend myself. "You broke up with me and I was lonely, and he was there. And -"

"Who was there?" Jones yelled.

Lily crossed her arms. "Drew."

I gasped again. "Lily!"

Jones walked past me in a blur, but I didn't miss it when he punched Drew in the face.

"Jones!" I rushed forward and stood in front of him to prevent him from walking any closer to Drew, who was on the ground. "What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with _me_? Why would have sex with another guy?" Jones's eyes had flames in them.

I shook my head. "You broke my heart, Jones! We weren't together!" I pushed him roughly, my hands feeling scorchingly hot. "You asshole! You broke my heart!"

Jones sighed, grabbing my wrist, despite this pain he must've felt. "Rin."

I ripped my arms away from him. "When that test comes out negative, I want you _out_."

"Rin..."

"Did you hear me? _Out._ " I walked to the kitchen counter and grabbed the test, running to the bathroom, trusting that Lily could keep Jones away from Drew long enough. I walked into the bathroom, shutting the door and peeing on the stupid thing.

After what felt like forever, I finally came out of the bathroom and tossed the test to Lily. Lily caught the test and studied it for a second. "Is it..."

"It's negative." I looked at Jones, who had almost no reaction.

Drew, on the other hand, sighed heavily. "Thank god. I knew I wore a condom and you were on the pill, and -"

Jones turned to Drew, glaring and Drew shut up quickly.

"Now that that's settled, both of you can go."

Drew stood first walking over to me, patting my shoulder. "I don't what to say."

I nodded and laughed lightly. "That's okay, Drew."

Drew started to leave as Lily walked up to me and nodded toward Jones. "Do you want me to -"

"No." I shook my head. "You can go, Lily."

Lily nodded and left, but not before turning to Jones and giving him the middle finger.

Jones smiled and nodded. "It was nice to see you, too, Lily."

Lily scoffed and left.

I sighed. "So..."

Jones gave me a hard look. "So."

I shrugged. "I don't know what you want me to say."

Jones shook his head, standing and walking a little closer to me. "When?"

"Three days after we broke up."

Jones cringed like he was physically hurt. "Jesus, Rin."

I walked closer to him, feeling worse if anything. "Are you mad?"

"Of course, I'm mad. The mere thought of anyone seeing you like that, touching you like that -" Jones groaned. "It drives me insane."

I crossed my arms against my chest. "You don't really have a right to be mad. We weren't together."

He scoffed. "For three days, Rin. Three days."

"Oh, yeah, because I'm sure you waited that long."

"I didn't."

My heart hurt. "That's what I thought."

"No, I mean, I didn't - I haven't had sex with anyone."

"What?" I said, almost breathless. "It's been three months and you're trying to tell me that you haven't have sex with anyone?"

Jones gave me a hard look. "No one's caught my eye, I guess."

I shook my head, turning my body toward him. "I don't understand. You break up with me, and then you get mad when I have sex with someone else."

"I miss you, Rin."

I backed away. "That's not a reason."

Jones took a big step closer, livid. "Well, maybe I regret it.."

"What?"

Jones breathed out roughly. "I miss you, kid, and I want you back."

I shook my head. "No. No, you don't get to do that again," I said strongly, backing away from him further. "Go away."

"Rin -"

"Go away!" I yelled loudly, flames coming to my hands. I quickly shook them, the flames disappearing as I held my face when I felt myself start to cry. "Please leave."

I heard Jones break something, then the door slam.

I fell to my knees, a painful sob escaping me.

* * *

It had been a couple days since the whole debacle and I was in my Mark'2s house in Florida, staring at myself in my bedroom mirror.

"Rin?"

I looked to the doorway at Johnny. "Yeah?"

"It's time."

I looked back at the mirror, fixing my makeup and making sure my braided hair was perfectly placed before I grabbed the bouquet of flowers, smoothing out my long, lavender dress and walking into the living room, making my way to the doors that led out into the backyard.

Florida was beautiful and Mark still owned the house, so they wanted to have the wedding here before he sold it and came to live with us permanently and forever more.

Johnny sighed. "She looks beautiful, doesn't she?"

I looked behind me at my mother, out of view from everyone sitting outside. She was in the prettiest wedding dress I had ever seen and she, in fact, did look gorgeous. "Yeah."

Johnny smiled at her, then looked back at me. "You look good too, I guess."

I couldn't even chuckle at his try. I just looked out at the arch twenty feet away, where Mark stood nervously. "Yeah, well, here comes the rest of my life."

"Rin..."

"What?" I looked at him.

"It won't hurt forever."

I looked at him sadly. "It feels like it will."

Johnny hesitated before asking, "You think you'll ever forgive him?"

"Yes," I answered quickly. "That's what scares me. He hurt me so bad and I'm so willing to take him back." I looked back at Johnny. "You were right when you said that you never really stop loving someone."

Johnny sighed, patting my shoulder. "You'll be okay."

The music started and the three bridesmaids in front of me were getting ready to walk out. The first one went.

"He was special person," I said sadly.

The second girl started to walk out.

"You'll live, Rin."

The third girl walked out.

"Really? 'Cause I feel like I'm dying."

"Well, I love you, kiddo."

I smiled at him. "I love you too, dad." Then I sighed, putting a pretty smile on my face as I walked out just as we had rehearsed. I walked down the aisle, feeling everyone's eyes on me. I was the only girl to walk on without someone and I was obviously the youngest, but I wasn't phased. I continued to the altar, standing at the front of the line that had formed, being the maid of honour.

The music changed, my mom appearing at the door. Everyone gasped lightly as she walked out, looking unbelievably beautiful. Her eyes were trained on Mark, filled with all the love in the world.

I felt my hands heat up as my heart started to hurt.

My mom walked up to us, standing in front of Mark, handing me her flowers, then holding Mark's hands.

"Dearly beloved -"

I zoned out for most of it. Most of it except for the vows, which made a couple tears run down my face. And of course, the kiss.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Mark leaned forward, kissing my mom sweetly and simply, but it was clear that it was filled with love. Then they pulled away as everyone clapped, laughing and smiling at each other. They grabbed each other's hands, walking down the aisle together and back into the house to get ready for the reception.

* * *

I stepped out of the hot house for just a minute, breathing in hot Floridian air. I walked to the edge of the backyard, looking out at the sunset and how beautiful it was.

"Marin."

I turned around to see my mom walking closer to me. "Hi, mom."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I needed some air."

She smiled, standing beside me and reaching up, rubbing my cheek. "Oh, honey."

I breathed out, trying to keep myself from crying. "I'm so happy for you, mom."

"I know, sweetheart," She said softly, pulling me closer and putting her arm around me. "Thank you for trying so hard to keep it together for this wedding and for me."

I smiled lightly. "You're welcome."

"But I can't watch you be like this for the rest of your life."

I looked up at her. "What?"

She leaned forward, kissing my cheek. "I love you, Marin. You're my daughter and I need you to be happy." She slipped away from me, walking back into the house, leaving me extremely confused.

"Rin."

No.

My eyes snapped to Jones, who had snuck up behind me the other way. He looked so handsome in his suit. He got a haircut and he looked much better than he had a couple of days ago. His dark hair went so well with his tanned skin and his light eyes. And the slight smile on his face made my chest hurt.

"Jones."

He took a couple steps closer, me still frozen on the spot. "I need to say something before you start yelling at me again."

I nodded just barely. "Okay."

He stepped closer, only about two feet from me. He looked over my face, then stared straight into my soul. "Marin Lake, I'm so in love with you in hurts."

I took a sharp intake of breath, my eyes watering quickly. "I -"

"Let me finish," He said in a soft-tone. "I'm in love with you and I need to be with you. I need to kiss you and hug you and feel you. I need to hear you laugh, see you smile. I need those things in my life. You're my best friend. You're my soulmate. Rin -" He reached out, grabbing my face, leaning close. "I love you." He then took a small step back, pulling a ring - my ring out of his pocket and holding it out in front of me. "I guess I'm just asking if you'll love me back."

I sniffled, staring at the ring, then up at him. "Are you kidding me? You can't just walk back into my life and -"

Jones interrupted me, looking unimpressed. "Rin."

"Yes!" I blurted out. "Yes, damnit. I love you," I mumbled, jumping forward and kissing him right on the mouth.

Oh, it felt good to kiss him again.

I held onto him as tight as I could, feeling as if we were melting into one person. And _that_ was the moment I _knew_ that I would never stop loving him.


End file.
